§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the cancellation of ferries to and from the Isle of Wight during the storm of 25 January.
§ Mr. ParkinsonI understand that all the operators decided to suspend services, at least during the middle of
56W
Total number of new claims taken during 1989 Doncaster 'A' Doncaster 'B' Doncaster 'C' Mexborough January 832 532 712 384 February 501 413 516 452 March 404 349 409 290 April 488 376 449 342 May 517 477 561 303 June 499 527 494 311 July 775 708 770 403 the day. In addition, the Queen's harbour master closed Portsmouth harbour from 11.30 am until 2.30 pm. I understand that Sealink restarted from Fishbourne just after 3 pm, and thereafter ran a two-hourly (rather than the normal one-hourly) service to Portsmouth. All other services to the Isle of Wight remained suspended for the rest of the day.
§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the effectiveness of maritime services, marine rescue radio services etc., during the storm of 25 January.
§ Mr. ParkinsonDespite the extreme conditions and a number of power supply interruptions, the maritime rescue services coped with all requests for assistance. The marine rescue radio services, Her Majesty's Coastguard and British Telecom international coast radio stations, maintained a distress watch throughout.