BRITISH SHIPPING INDUSTRY

That this House regrets the steady reduction in British registered and owned ships, and the cuts in the numbers of British officers and ratings employed, since the 1940s; welcomes the Government's decision to take seriously the problems of the industry, through the setting up of a Shipping Working Group, with shipping owners and unions working in partnership; welcomes the formulation of a realistic policy, including a tonnage tax, to halt this decline; and urges the Government to secure a future for the core workforce of British ratings for economic, social and strategic reasons, and to promote the use of British crews.