§ 2.38 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they propose to take to ensure that Soviet Government ships do not infringe safety zones around production platforms or exploration drilling rigs within the British zone of the Continental Shelf.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (LORD GORONWY-ROBERTS)My Lords, a Soviet Government ship entered the safety zones of installations on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf on June 24 and 25. The attention of the Soviet authorities was immediately drawn to the need to observe safety zones around installations on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply, and for the information which it gave to the House. May I ask him whether he is aware that my Question asked what steps Her Majesty's Government propose to take to ensure that Soviet ships do not infringe the safety zone? Could he be so kind as to answer that Question?
§ LORD GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I thought I gave an indication, by saying what we have already done, of what we propose to do in the future if such infringements are reported. Additionally, we have under study interdepartmentally improvements in the speed and accuracy of reporting by the rig operators. But it is our experience, as deliberate infringement is very rare indeed, that the speed with which we can apply to the governmental authorities of the infringing ship in question is always important. We shall of course look to possible changes in the law of the sea, and also to technical changes in improving mechanical devices to provide evidence of infringement.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, in thanking the noble Lord for that further reply, may I ask whether the Government are considering the possibility of aerial patrols so that the activities of Soviet vessels in the North Sea and the Channel, which are now very common and sometimes dangerous, can be monitored, and so that either naval 837 or coastguard intervention may be provided should it be needed?
§ LORD GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I will draw the attention of my right honourable friend to the suggestion made by the noble Earl, Lord Lauderdale. I should add that this kind of infringement is, happily, exceptional.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, will the noble Lord answer a further question? I am much obliged for what he has said but can he say whether the coastguard was alerted to intervene on the occasion of these two incidents? Also, how far within the safety zones and how close to the installations in question did the Soviet ships come?
§ LORD GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I am advised that in fact it was the coastguard which was informed and which transmitted the information to the proper authorities on both these occasions. As to the distance between the rig and the infringing vessel, our calculation is that it was 950 feet, but this is disputed by the Soviet authorities, who admit that there was a vessel in the vicinity. They say that it was not within the limit of 500 metres. However, they do not contest for a moment the need not to infringe these safety zones.