§ Mr. Prescottasked the Minister for Trade how many preliminary inquiries into the losses of British vessels have occurred for each year since 1970; what proportion led to formal inquiries; and what was the average period of time between the ending of preliminary and the starting of formal inquiries for each year since 1970.
§ Mr. SproatThe following figures give the annual number of preliminary inquiries into the losses of British vessels and show, in brackets, the number where a formal investigation ensued. The average period of time between the ending of the preliminary inquiry and the starting of the formal investigation is shown in the last column.
Year Losses Weeks 1970 12(3) 72 1971 3(1) 68½ 1972 10(1) 21 1973 15(3) 28½ 1974 9(4) 29 1975 7(1) 37½ 1976 5(1) 39 1977 7(3) 53 1978 7(*) — 1979 10(2) 32 1980 3(*) — 1981 †7(2) — * NIL.
† Still to be held.
461W
§ Mr. Prescottasked the Minister for Trade how many British vessels have been lost due to the movement of slurry cargoes; and how many lives have been lost from these vessels.
§ Mr. SproatTwo British vessels and 15 lives have been lost since 1972 in circumstances attributable to a movement of the cargo following the development of a state of flow within it. The particulars are as follows:
Vessel Cargo Date Lives Lost "Burtonia" Lead concentrate 30 November 1972 4 "Lovat" Anthracite washed duff 25 January 1975 11