HC Deb 14 April 1986 vol 95 c312W
Mr. Hancock

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many ships there were under the United Kingdom flag in each of the last five years.

Mr. Ridley

The number of United Kingdom registered merchant ships of 500 gross registered tons and over at the end of each of the last five years is:

Number
1981 1,118
1982 985
1983 866
1984 777
1985 693

These figures exclude Government owned vessels, offshore supply vessels, tugs, fishing vessels and other non-trading vessels.