asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether his Department has had any discussion with the Port of London Authority concerning safety lessons to be drawn from the collission of the coaster "Towe Princess" with the liquid natural gas tanker "Methane Princess" at Canvey Island on 6th December 1974; what action has since been taken; and whether his Department was also consulted about the recent testing of the world's largest LNG tankers such as the "Paul Kayse" and the "Hille" at Canvey Island and the advisability of testing such vessels there in the future.
Discussions were held between officials of my Department
| LARGE LISTED MANUFACTURING COMPANIES | |||||||||
| Number of companies | Cash, etc. and identified Government securities* | Other listed and unlisted investments | Trade and other debtors | Total immediate assets and investments† | Current liabilities‡ | Liquidity ratio | |||
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (4)÷(5) | (1)÷(5) | |||
| £m. | £m. | £m. | £m. | £m. | £m. | per cent. | |||
| 1948 | … | 2,006 | 1,038 | 985 | 2,022 | 1,573 | 128·5 | ||
| 1949 | … | 2,006 | 1,065 | 1,066 | 2,130 | 1,628 | 130·8 | ||
| 1950 | … | 2,099 | 1,174 | 1,222 | 2,396 | 1,788 | 134·0 | ||
| 1951 | … | 2,143 | 1,147 | 1,445 | 2,592 | 2,220 | 116·8 | ||
| 1952 | … | 2,129 | 1,189 | 1,501 | 2,690 | 2,172 | 123·8 | ||
| 1953 | … | 2,106 | 1,344 | 1,582 | 2,926 | 2,201 | 132·9 | ||
| 1954 | … | 2,113 | 1,423 | 1,730 | 3,152 | 2,329 | 135·3 | ||
| 1955 | … | 2,133 | 1,446 | 1,985 | 3,431 | 2,604 | 131·8 | ||
| 1956 | … | 2,152 | 1,310 | 2,117 | 3,427 | 2,863 | 119·7 | ||
| 1957 | … | 2,104 | 1,346 | 2,276 | 3,622 | 3,056 | 118·5 | ||
| 1958 | … | 2,065 | 1,415 | 2,265 | 3,681 | 2,989 | 123·1 | ||
and the Port of London Authority following the collision and the PLA has since introduced new statutory directions concerning safe navigation in the area.
I assume that the tests referred to are the "cooling-down" trials carried out on new ships when they embark their first cargo of liquid gas. The safety aspect of such loading operations at Canvey Island is primarily a matter for the Secretary of State for Employment.