§ Mr. Clinton Davisasked the Secretary of State for Trade how many British merchant vessels are registered in open registry countries; and how this figure compares with each of the years 1974 to 1980.
§ Mr. Eyre[pursuant to his reply, 16 March 1981, c. 10]: There is no generally accepted definition of what constitutes an open registry. There are no official statistics on the extent to which ships under other flags are beneficially owned by United Kingdom interests.