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(d) Fuel-oil Tanks Additional tanks were declared surplus during the year, bringing the total up to 95 for tanks ranging from 200 gallons to 11,000 gallons capacity, and 12 for tanks over 11,000 gallons and up to 750,000 gallons capacity. All of these tanks have been sold with the exception of 9 of 8,000 gallons each which are of concrete construction and for which there is naturally a very limited market. (e) Proceeds oe Sales The proceeds from the sale of buildings up to 31st March 1948, are as follows :

* Buildings, £5,325,573 ; materials, £496,538. The disposals as referred to above were spread as follows : £ (a) Auckland district .. .. .. .. 3,423,022 (b) Wellington district .. .. .. .. 1,499,308 (e) Nelson and Marlborough district .. .. .. 224,119 (d) South Island (less (c) ) .. .. .. .. 491,720 (e) Fiji ~ .. .. .. .. .. 183,942 £5,822,111 14. SHIPPING The disposal of vessels of various classes has been one of the major activities of the Board, but it is now nearing an end. The vessels include steamships, motor-ships, launches, lighters, barges, and other craft. Many of these were requisitioned during the war, others were built in New Zealand for war purposes, and some were acquired from overseas. In the main, disposals have been carried out through the agency of the Marine Department, which has conducted the negotiations for sale and, for the most part, taken custody of the vessels pending disposal. Requisitioned ships have been sold under an arrangement whereby the former owners were given prior right of purchase at a price based on the amount paid by the Government for the ships. If, after negotiation, a former owner failed to buy, the ship was sold by public tender. Ships other than those purchased from private owners are disposed of by tender. Selling-prices are fixed by valuation made by the Surveyors of the Marine Department and by outside valuers experienced in the construction of the particular type under disposal. Some of the ships that were requisitioned from private owners have been retained by the Services and by Government Departments. The negotiations for the sale of vessels generally have in many cases been very protracted, and in some instances were rendered more difficult by the fact that vessels were of unsuitable type and were handed back by the United States authorities and the Service Departments in poor condition. The locally-built ships and those constructed for special war purposes were generally of types that were not easily adaptable to private or commercial use, and disposal was difficult.

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To Government Other Sales. Total. Departments. Sales— £ £ £ To 31st March, 1947 1,302,985 1,677,199 2,980,184 For year ended 31st March, 1948 2,062,718 779,209 2,841,927 Total sales .. .. ,. .. | 3,365,703 2,456,408 5,822,111*