§ 3.35 p.m.
§ Mr. A. P. Costain (Folkestone and Hythe)I beg to move,
§ That leave be given to bring in a Bill to assure the security of boarding ladders, and reduce the risk of accidents to pilots.
§ My purpose in asking the House to give time for this Measure is that, despite repeated applications and Questions in this House by myself and other hon. Members, the Board of Trade has failed to bring in regulations to ensure that the fixing of pilot ladders on merchant ships is up to the standard demanded by other maritime nations.
§ I should like to explain that my attention was drawn to certain deficiencies in the law when a pilot constituent of mine came to see me on 22nd May, 1968, to discuss a fatal accident involving one of his colleagues when disembarking from the motor vessel " Afric " off Dover on 3rd August, 1967. When the cause of the accident was explained, I thought it incomprehensible that this country, as a leading maritime nation, did not have legislation to ensure that pilot ladders were properly secured to a ship's bulwarks.
§ The normal means of access from a pilot vessel to the deck of a ship is by rope ladder, which is not ideal even in the most favourable conditions; and when the ship is rolling it is a dangerous operation. When the pilot reaches the top of the bulwark it is not unreasonable for him to expect that the most hazardous part of the operation is over. But at the end of the rope ladder he has to clamber over the top of the bulwark and down a series of steps to the deck. To assist him in this operation it is usual to have a stanchion which he has a perfect right to assume is attached to the ship itself.
§ The cause of the fatal accident to which I have referred was the fact that when the pilot was disembarking from the vessel he went up the ordinary step ladder from the deck to the bulwark, turned round to take hold of the stanchion and, unfortunately, the bulwark steps were not attached and a slight roll of the ship caused my constituent to be thrown in the water and resulted in fatal injuries to him. There have been other accidents of this sort since that time which, fortunately, 1067 have not proved fatal, but it has been only by the grace of God that other people have not been killed.
§ The dangerous combination of bulwark steps and ladder stanchions has been recognised by the leading maritime nations as a serious threat to life. In 1964, the International Standardisation Organisation put forward Recommendation No. 8.799, about pilot ladders, in a technical committee. Work on this question by that committee led, in 1966, to the adoption of a draft recommendation which, subject to a few modifications of an editorial nature, was approved by the following member bodies: Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the U.S.S.R.
§ No member body opposed the approval of the draft recommendation and it was then submitted to the I.S.O. Council, which decided, in July, 1968, to accept it as an I.S.O. recommendation. It was reasonable to expect that as the United Kingdom is a member of the body which approved the draft, pilot ladder regulations would be introduced to include the barring of handhold stanchions being attached to gunwale steps.
§
But when, on 23rd July, 1969, I asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he would introduce new regulations concerning bulwark ladders and stanchions in compliance with the I.S.O. recommendations, I was told:
No. We do not consider that the I.S.O. Recommendation is in wide enough terms to cover the many different designs and shapes of vessels involved. However, a Statutory Instrument will shortly be laid before the House amending the Merchant Shipping (Pilot Ladders) Rules 1965 to make compulsory the provision and firm securement of handhold stanchions in conjunction with bulwark ladders. This amendment will give statutory effect to recommendations contained in Merchant Shipping Notice No. M.558 issued in June."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 23rd July, 1969; Vol. 787, c.386.]
§ Although nine months have elapsed, the Statutory Instrument has not yet been laid, and it is clear from the reply 1068 that I received to a Question which I asked the President of the Board of Trade on 29th April that the matter has not been settled, although there was a meeting between the pilots and the Board of Trade on Friday last, which appears to indicate that the process of consultation has been greatly accelerated as a consequence of my proposal to introduce this Bill.
§ I understand that the Board of Trade has at last decided to make regulations. However, apparently they are to apply only to British ships and not necessarily to foreign ships. As well over 85 per cent. of the ships piloted in this country are foreign, it is difficult to understand why it is proposed to restrict this safety requirement to British ships.
§ My Bill is designed to ensure that the legislation regarding the safety of pilot ladders in this country is equal to if not better than that of all other maritime nations. I consider that this can best be achieved by accepting the recommendations of the United Kingdom Pilots' Association. I am sure that the House will agree that this organisation is a most responsible and respectable body. It has the privilege of having the Home Secretary as its president.
§ In asking leave to bring in the Bill, I assure the House that, between now and the Bill's possibly receiving the Royal Assent, if the Board of Trade gets on with its job and brings in the necessary regulations I will not waste any more of the time of the House.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Costain, Sir Beresford Craddock, Mr. R. Chichester-Clark, Mr. Gower, Mr. Ian Lloyd, Mr. Ray Mawby, Mr. David Price, and Mr. John Tilney.