§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Transport what was the new tonnage of merchant ships 14W ordered for the United Kingdom fleet in 1984; and how much of that tonnage was placed in United Kingdom yards.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe tonnage, in gross registered tons of merchant vessels of 100 grt and over, ordered in 1984 for United Kingdom registration was 183 thousand tons, of which 117 thousand tons was placed in United Kingdom yards.
§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of total world merchant ship tonnage is currently represented by the United Kingdom fleet: and what was the equivalent figure for 1965 and 1975, respectively.
§ Mr. David MitchellAt 1 January 1985, the latest period for which world fleet statistics are available, United Kingdom registered merchant vessels represented 3.0 per cent. of the world total deadweight tonnage of merchant ships of 100 gross tons and over. The corresponding figures for mid-1975 and mid-1965 are 9.7 per cent. and 12.6 per cent. respectively.
§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the latest figures for the size of the United Kingdom merchant fleet, measured both in the numbers of ships and in dead-weight tonnage; and what were the equivalent figures for 1965 and 1975, respectively.
§ Mr. David MitchellAt end March 1985, the latest period for which figures are available, the United Kingdom-registered merchant fleet of vessels of 500 gross tons and over consisted of 758 ships with a total of 21.1 million deadweight tons. This compares with 1,770 ships of 50.7 million dwt at end March 1975 and 2,461 ships of 26.7 million dwt at end March 1965.