§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what inquiries are made in respect of fishing vessels requested to be registered as British to establish that beneficial ownership resides in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. NorrisThe registrar has to make such inquiries as he considers necessary to establish that ownership of the vessel meets the qualifying criteria and that the vessel is operated and managed from within the United Kingdom.
For the latter he will usually look to any existing management agreement to see that the basic requirements of section 14(1)(b) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 are met.