Since Question No. 15 is being taken with Question No. 2, may I ask if the Minister is satisfied that the presentation of the bill to the insurers of the Kowloon Bridge will be a sufficient response? Question No. 15 asks if the cost has been presented against the legal owners. I am interested in the distinction between the insurers and the legal owners. The presentation of the bill to the insurers could allow conditions to be brought into the response which would not accrue if the claim were made against the legal owners.

The insurers have stated that the owners' legal liability will be met. They have indicated that the costs arising from those legal liabilities will be met.

May I take it that there will be no mitigation of the owners' liability, that the liability being accepted by the insurers, as has been communicated to the Minister, involves no mitigation of the owners' liability as legal owners of the vessel?

I am satisfied that the total claim which we have lodged with the insurers will be adequate to meet the expenses incurred and the damage arising from this incident. It is our intention to press ahead with a settlement of the claim without recourse to legal proceedings, but in the event of legal proceedings being required, the necessary steps will be taken.