§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans his Department has in place for taking control of civilian ships should they be required in a war effort; and if he will make a statement. [85352]
§ Mr. IngramIn order to meet our shipping needs in any future emergency, we would plan to charter civil shipping on the world-wide market to augment the capacity that our own ships give us. Where this is not possible, we would seek to use, where appropriate, either alternative types of ships or transport resources of allied or friendly nations or, as a last resort and in926W specific circumstances, we would requisition British shipping. Our assessment now is that there are currently enough military-useful British flagged merchant ships and United Kingdom seafarers to meet our defence needs. In concert with the Department of Transport, we continue to keep the situation under close scrutiny.