§ 25. Mr. Prescottasked the Minister for Trade if he will make a statement on his review of Government policy on merchant shipping.
§ Mr. SproatI am currently considering detailed representations and proposals from the shipping industry. I met the General Council of British Shipping on 22 December and the National Union of Seamen on 18 January, and I plan to meet the other maritime unions shortly.
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade if he has recently conducted a review of the adequacy of the United Kingdom registered merchant shipping fleet for defence purposes; and if he regards the present merchant fleet in size and composition as adequate for such purposes.
§ Mr. SproatThe fleet's adequacy for defence purposes is monitored regularly. It can match all Ministry of Defence stated requirements. Its ability to do so will continue to be kept under review.
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade if he will publish a table showing the size of the United Kingdom registered merchant fleet expressed in thousands dead-weight tonnes and in numbers for each year since 1960 categorised into (a) passenger vessels, (b) cargo liners, (c) container vessels, (d) tramps, (e) bulk carriers, (f) tankers and (g) others.
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§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 21 January 1983, c. 246]: The information requested is given for the years 1970 to 1982 in table 1.1, page 12 of Business Monitor MR 15 General trends in shipping 1982 No. 5, available in the House of Commons Library. The readily available information for earlier years is as follows:
United Kingdom Registered Merchant Vessels (Vessels of 500 Gross Registered Tons and Over) End year Vessels Thousand dead-weight tons 1960 2,902 26,127 1961 2,808 26,425 1962 2,689 26,576 1963 2,538 26,495 1964 2,473 26,646 1965 2,401 26,650 1966 2,319 26,931 1967 2,181 27,448 1968 2,058 28,847 1969 2,002 32,386
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade for each year since 1960 how many United Kingdom registered merchant vessels, involving what dead weight tonnage, left the United Kingdom flag and re-registered under the flags of other nations; and what were the national flags involved.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 21 January 1983, c. 246]: The available information is given for the years 1974 to 1981 in table 1.12, page 28, of Business Monitor MR 15, general trends in shipping 1982 No. 5; and for 1973 in table 1.12, page 26, of MR 15 1981 No. 3. Information for earlier years, other than the following, could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
United Kingdom Registered Merchant Vessels Ships sold to foreign buyers and re-registered abroad Year '000 tons 1960 877 1961 883 1962 751 1963 882 1964 959 1965 1,103 1966 649 1967 966 1968 1,109 1969 823 1970 948 1971 1,280 1972 1,271
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade if he will publish a table for the latest available date of the United Kingdom registered merchant fleet, classified by types (a) passenger vessels, (b) cargo liners, (c) container vessels, (d) tramps (e) bulk carriers and (f) tankers, and by ownership: (i) United Kingdom companies, (ii) United Kingdom subsidiaries or associates of foreign companies, (iii) companies owned abroad by subsidiaries of United Kingdom companies and (iv) other companies owned abroad.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 21 January 1983, c. 246]: The information requested is as follows:
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United Kingdom registered merchant fleet: analysis by type of vessel and by ownership at 30 September 1982 Thousand deadweight tons (dwt) Ownership Passenger Vessels Cargo Liners Container Vessels Tramps Bulk Carriers Tankers Total Total owned in UK 166 1,641 1,465 645 6,154 16,829 26,899 of which: (i) UK companies 161 1,345 1,293 532 3,545 9,354 16,230 (ii) UK subsidiaries or associates of foreign companies 5 296 172 113 2,609 7,475 10,669 Total owned abroad 2 129 — 22 2,992 2,209 5,354 of which: (iii) subsidiaries of UK companies — 12 — 1 282 279 574 (iv) other companies 2 117 — 21 2,710 1,930 4,780
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade what levels and percentages of imports and of exports by value and by weight were carried in United Kingdom registered merchant vessels in each year since 1960.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 21 January 1983, c. 246]: The levels and percentages of seaborne imports and exports carried on United Kingdom registered vessels are published or can be derived from the following sources available in the House of Commons Library.
1970–80: Business Monitor MA8, Nationality of Vessels in United Kingdom Seaborne Trade 1980, tables 1a and 3a. 1965–69: Business Monitor M8, Nationality of Vessels in Seaborne Trade 1974–75, tables 1 and 3. Figures for earlier years are not available.
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade what was the percentage change in labour productivity on United Kingdom registered merchant shipping in each year since 1960.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 24 January 1983, c. 246]: I regret that the information requested is not available.
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade, for each year since 1960, what were the numbers of persons employed by the United Kingdom merchant shipping fleet; and of these, how many were shore-based and how many were seagoing.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 21 January 1983, c. 246]: The available information is as follows:
Number of seamen in United Kingdom Merchant Navy (000's) Number Year 1963 155 1964 148 254W
Merchant fleets* of selected countries: Size at mid-year (million deadweight tonnes) 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1982 United Kingdom 28.5 29.2 38.0 52.7 43.0 35.2 France 6.4 6.9 9.3 17.9 20.6 18.5 Italy 7.5 8.4 10.2 15.5 17.8 16.9 Federal Republic of Germany 7.0 8.3 12.1 13.5 13.1 12.2 Denmark 3.2 3.8 4.9 7.1 8.6 8.0 Sweden 5.7 6.1 7.2 12.2 6.6 5.8 Norway 16.9 23.5 31.2 45.4 38.5 38.4 Netherlands 6.4 6.8 7.3 8.5 8.7 8.1 Greece 6.2 10.0 16.8 37.5 67.0 70.2
Number Year 1965 141 1966 133 1967 127 1968 120 1969 115 1970 113 1971 109 1972 103 Source: General Register and Record Office of Shipping and Seamen (GRSS) and General Council of British Shipping (GCBS).
Number of seamen in United Kingdom Merchant Navy (000' s) Year Number 1975 107 1976 101 1977 94 1978 87 1979 81 1980 78 1981 71 (provisional) Source: Department of Trade and the GCBS.
The two series given are derived from different sources with differences in coverage and are therefore not directly comparable. Figures for 1973 and 1974 are not available. No estimates are available for shore-based staff.
§ Mr. Woolmerasked the Minister for Trade what was the size, in million deadweight tonnes, of the merchant fleets in (a) 1960, (b) 1965, (c) 1970, (d) 1975, (e) 1980 and (f) 1982 of (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) France, (iii) Italy, (iv) West Germany, (v) Denmark, (vi) Sweden, (vii) Norway, (viii) the Netherlands and (ix) Greece.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to the reply, 21 January 1983, c. 246]: The information requested is given in the following table:
255W* The figures cover all trading ships of 100 gross registered tons and over and exclude such vessels as tugs, fishing vessels, survey ships, etc.
Source: General Council of British Shipping/Lloyd's Register of Shipping.