§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the spillage of oil from the ship E1 Omar in the port of Milford Haven on Saturday 3 December including the cause of the spillage and the action taken to deal with it.
§ Mr. PortilloThe spillage occurred when the vessel was discharging its cargo at an oil terminal within the port of Milford Haven. The port authority has initiated proceedings against the master of the ship and it would be wrong for me to speculate on the cause of the spillage before any court proceedings that might ensue.
As soon as the spillage was observed, the discharge of cargo was stopped; the port authority activated the Haven anti-oil pollution plan for which it is responsible; and it, together with the terminal operator and local authorities, initiated appropriate containment and clean-up action. This was hampered by strong winds.
When the Department's marine pollution control unit was made aware of the size of the spillage, clean-up advice and assistance were offered to both the port authority and local authorities. Although this was not required the unit satisfied itself that all parties were working together effectively to deal with the situation.