HC Deb 12 June 1967 vol 748 cc82-4
28. Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made following the "Torrey Canyon" incident in the review of international law relating to accidents at sea.

Mr. Mulley

A legal committee was established at the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation Special Meeting of the Council on 4th and 5th May. It will meet on 21st and 22nd June to begin consideration of international legal problems arising out of the "Torrey Canyon" disaster.

Mr. Lyon

What proposals is my right hon. Friend considering putting before this Committee to deal with the twin problems of compensation for disasters of this kind—compensation which must be shared between all the maritime Powers—and trying to prevent such accidents by ordering the sea-lanes in a better way than is possible at the moment?

Mr. Mulley

There are many other points as well as the two important ones mentioned by my hon. Friend. It is an extremely complex legal problem and, rather than trespass upon the time of the House now, I will place in the Library the full text of all the 18 points that the Government have submitted to this Committee.

Sir Knox Cunningham

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider some arrangement by the maritime States whereby they would guarantee a fund to meet similar types of disaster which occur on the High Seas, without any particular liability upon the ship or the owners?

Mr. Mulley

This is certainly a point which can be considered, and I assure the hon. and learned Gentleman that all relevant points will be put by us before the Committee. It is a very complicated legal question, as he knows, and it will take time for them to be processed by this international body.

Dr. John Dunwoody

Would my right hon. Friend accept that many people in the South-West consider that progress should be very rapidly made, because we are concerned with the ever-present risk of a disaster similar to that of the Torrey Canyon occurring on our shores in the months ahead?

Mr. Mulley

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for stressing the urgency, and I can assure him that the Government will do all that they can to press matters forward. It would be unrealistic to expect a very rapid solution to the very many intricate matters involved.

Mr. Geoffrey Wilson

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell me whether the 18 points to which he has referred include any reference to the provisions for the navigability of large tankers?

Mr. Mulley

These matters are among the points, but, rather than go into the long list now, I hope that the hon. Member will consult the text in the Library.