§ 52. Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Russian merchant ships visit British ports per week; whether there is any restriction on how many miles radius of a port the crews are allowed to travel; and what check is made by United Kingdom port authorities on the Russian crews returning to their ships.
§ Mr. RifkindIn 1983 there were over 1,200 visits by Soviet merchant ships to British ports. For reasons of cost weekly figures for visits of Soviet merchant ships are not kept.
The regulations governing Soviet seamen in British ports are set out in the Anglo-Soviet treaty on merchant navigation, a copy of which is in the Library.
Like British sailors in the Soviet Union, Soviet sailors are admitted without visas for temporary shore leave while their vessel is in port. In the United Kingdom there are no restrictions imposed on sailors of any nationality as to how widely they may travel during their temporary shore leave. In accordance with United Kingdom practice the master of a Soviet or any other ship is obliged to present a full crew list to the immigration authorities within 12 hours of arrival. There are no formal checks of crews returning to their ships.