HC Deb 14 July 1992 vol 211 cc650-1W
Mr. Steen

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have been reported for each of the last five years in British waters, involving professionally qualified crews.

Mr. Norris

The statistics maintained do not distinguish between accidents within and outside United Kingdom territorial waters.

The number of reported accidents worldwide involving United Kingdom registered merchant vessels over 100 gross tonnes or fishing vessels for the period 1987 to 1992 is:

Year Accidents to vessels Accidents to crew
1987 471 709
1988 641 680
1989 786 690
1990 799 718
1991 577 729

Mr. Steen

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pleasure craft are registered to use British waters; and how many accidents have been reported for each of the last five years involving such pleasure craft.

Mr. Norris

There are 73,000 pleasure craft currently registered in the United Kingdom.

The Merchant Shipping (Accident Investigation) Regulations 1987 define, among other things, the term "pleasure craft" as a vessel primarily used for sport or recreation. The regulations do not require such vessels to report accidents.

Mr. Harvey

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the events surrounding the discovery of an empty fishing boat Springbok off the north Devon coast on 8 July, with particular reference to the role of the coastguard.

Mr. Norris

The empty fishing dory Springbok was reported to Swansea Coastguard on the morning of 8 July 1992. Swansea Coastguard immediately initiated the standard course of search-and-rescue action based on the initial information.

By late evening on 8 July, it was established that on 5 July Milford Haven Coastguard had received a report by the owners that the Springbok had gone missing.

Watch officers at Milford Haven did not however associate this information with the request by the marine rescue co-ordination centre, Swansea on 8 July that record be checked for reports of missing craft.

HM Coastguard, while satisfied that MRCC Swansea acted correctly in this incident, accepts that a mistake was made, and has carried out an internal inquiry to determine the reasons why the recorded information was not identified and passed on by MRSC Milford Haven on 8 July. Action has been taken in the light of this inquiry to remind officers of the correct procedure.