HC Deb 15 January 1971 vol 809 cc153-4W
Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will approach the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation with a view to amending routing and navigational requirements in the English Channel.

Mr. Anthony Grant

Yes. We are con-consulting United Kingdom maritime interests next week with a view to making proposals to I.M.C.O. on this subject.

Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from Trinity House, the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, and the Institute of Navigation about navigation regulations, routing and collisions in the English Channel; and what reply he has sent.

Mr. Anthony Grant

Proposals for reversing the flow of traffic in the Dover Strait, which were put to the Board of Trade in August, 1969, by Trinity House and the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, were fully considered in the Board's Safety of Navigation Committee, but the Board was not prepared to support the proposals. This Committee has also been considering the United Kingdom policy on revision of the Collision Regulations. Trinity House, the Honourable Company and the Institute of Navigation have taken part in these discussions, as have other interested maritime organisations.

Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement about the recent collision in the Dover Straits between a Texaco Panama tanker, "Texaco Caribbean" and the "Paracas", a Peruvian flagship.

Mr. Anthony Grant

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House on 13th January.—[Vol. 809, c. 66–72.]

Mr. Leslie Huckfield

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the numbers of collisions between ships in the English Channel in each of the years 1960 to 1970; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Anthony Grant

Statistics of collisions in the Dover Strait, published in the Journal of the Institute of Navigation on the basis of information from "Lloyd's List", show that the following collisions took place between June, 1960, and May, 1970:

1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64
19 14 12 19
1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68
10 9 3 5
1968–69 1969–70
13 9

There were four collisions in June, 1970, and one in August. No later information is available.

The routing scheme was introduced in June, 1967.