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Maritime Industry

I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Ms Clark) on securing the debate and on a well informed and impassioned speech. The red ensign now flies over 3 per cent. of the world's merchant shipping, a far cry from the days when we had 40 per cent. of the ships prowling the globe, and when the merchant navy's sister service, the Royal Navy, could maintain a two-power standard. Nevertheless, the merchant fleet is as important as ever to our economy. It has again overtaken aviation to become our third largest export earner, with a turnover of more than £10 billion. More than 95 per cent. of our trade comes from the sea, 67 million people travelled to and from our shores by boat, and Britain has Europe's largest ports industry and the world's most significant maritime hub, with an annual turnover of £37 billion. We must also remember all the ancillary operations, from insurance to marine law, in which Britain is a world leader. We have had a well informed debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) discussed naval shipbuilding. I shall not follow him down that route and go beyond my brief, but, sadly, it appears that many of the problems that existed 20 years ago when I was a management consultant to several shipbuilders continue to exist. We no longer face a serious military threat of being cut off by sea from major supplies of crude oil and materials, but in times of crisis there is still an important defence need, as my hon. Friend reminded us, to transport troops and arms to war zones. During the Falklands war, dozens of vessels were requisitioned for service in the south Atlantic. Merchant sailors faced death and injury on behalf of their nation and were rightly rewarded for their gallantry. Looking across a range of such issues, we can see why the decline in the merchant navy in the past 30 years is so serious for British trade.