§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, arising from the sinking of a 26-year old cargo ship with the loss of 17 lives last April, amendments will be proposed to the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 to extend to the Cayman Islands and any other dependencies concerned the conditions required for registered ships of the United Kingdom and its dependencies generally.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade (Lord Trefgarne)My department is in the course of reviewing the sections of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 relating to the registration of ships. It is the intention, as part of that review, to consult the dependent territories about the provision which should be made in future legislation for a suitable regulative framework for those territories which require registration facilities. A consultative document outlining our proposed approach will be circulated in due course; a copy will be placed in the Library.