financial trouble as a result of his loss-making tourist submarine business.

In particular, Mr. Soares rejected a rumour circulating the business community that he was seeking to sell his house in Rural Hill, Paget, to ease his financial situation.

"That is simply not true,'' he said. "My house is not on the market but, like any other asset I own, if someone came along and made me an attractive offer then I would accept it. But that's probably true of any businessman.

"I'm not in financial trouble at this moment. I, like most people, do have some bank financing, but, speaking as a qualified chartered accountant who was in practise for 20 plus years, by no stretch of the imagination can it be said that I'm in financial trouble.'' Mr. Soares resigned as Minister of Youth and Sport earlier this year so he could spend more time running his purpose-built tourist submarine Enterprise , which operates out of Dockyard.

He admits the submarine has lost him "substantial amounts of money'' since he bought it for an estimated $2 million two years ago from businessman Mr. Beau Evans, whose firm Looking Glass Cruises has since gone bust because of losses accrued by the vessel.

Mr. Soares was upbeat yesterday and said he was confident the submarine will at least break even over this season.

"In the past, I've only been able to devote about half-an-hour a week to the business because of my Cabinet responsibilities,'' he said. "Clearly, that was an unsatisfactory situation.

"I'm very optimistic that this season is going to be substantially better than others. It's looking extremely promising.

"We've had firm commitments from the Meridian and Horizon cruise ships that they will promote the submarine on board ship and we're pursuing the other cruise ships.

"This is a major breakthrough for us because, in previous years, we have had no such arrangements. It has opened up an exciting new avenue for us.'' Attracting enough people to experience the thrills of an underwater dive has always been a huge problem for the Enterprise .

The most suitable dive site, where customers can see a wreck and plenty of fish in clear waters, is more than five miles offshore.

A tender taking passengers to and from the dive site can take more than an hour to reach the submarine in bad weather, greatly reducing the number of dives which can be fitted into one day.

Some customers are also put off by the price of a trip beneath the ocean -- $65 for adults and $32.50 for children 15 years and under.

The Enterprise stopped running during the winter but will become operational again within the next few weeks, said Mr. Soares.

"I'm extremely bullish,'' he added. "I'm very excited about the whole environment up there at Dockyard, which is being developed as a quality place.'' Mr. Soares said that 1992 was a make or break year for the submarine. If it is not a success, the chances are he will sell it.

Mr. Harry Soares MP.