§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the circumstances which resulted in the loss of' the trawler Wilhelmina J when in collision with the Cypriot cargo vessel Zulfikar on 10 April; and what actions his Department took subsequently.
§ Mr. McLoughlin[holding answer 29 April 1991]: The trawler Wilhelmina J collided with the Cypriot registered cargo ship Zulfikar during the early hours of 10 April in the English Channel. The Zulfikar, although aware of the collision, failed to stop. The Wilhelmina J sank with the tragic loss of all six persons on board.
Investigations were begun by both the Cypriot authorities and the marine accident investigation branch (MAIB).
Both MAIB and the Cypriot authorities made immediate and sustained efforts to have the Zulfikar diverted to enable inspectors to interview the master and crew. After initial rejection, the ship's managers agreed on 12 April to divert to a position off Lisbon, where on 14 April an official from the Cypriot High Commission accompanied by inspectors from MAIB boarded the vessel by helicopter to pursue their investigations.
An interim inspector's report has been submitted to the Secretary of State, and a bulletin giving the facts so far established will shortly be issued: a copy will be placed in the Library.
The inspectors have had the full co-operation of the flag state (Cyprus) and as the Zulfikar was manned by Indian nationals, an appropriate report has been sent to the Indian High Commission in London.
The investigation, which has the status of an inspector's inquiry under the Merchant Shipping (Accident Investigation) Regulations, is continuing. I cannot discuss the circumstances of the accident further at this stage. A
104W full report will be produced when the inquiry is completed, and the inspector's findings will be published unless a formal investigation is ordered.
TV (£) Radio (£) Press (£) Other (£) Total (£) Actual 1979–80 N/A N/A — — — 1980–81 424,102 4,127 2,496,440 2,588,540 5,513,209 1981–82 — 62,896 1,814,935 2,784,279 4,662,110 1982/83 — 89,654 2,984,230 3,222,031 6,295,915 1983–84 1,479,748 17,434 764,409 2,670,666 4,932,257 1984–85 944,975 3,477 717,057 4,473,283 6,138,792 1985–86 9,676,257 311,537 1,867,286 5,111,180 16,966,260 1986–87 15,624,000 258,631 6,927,370 12,124,000 34,934,001 1987–88 17,321,000 26,841 6,950,159 11,647,000 35,945,000 1988–89 12,569,000 — 5,502,000 12,449,000 30,520,000 1989–90 8,610,000 56,000 6,164,000 12,485,000 27,315,000