HC Deb 25 January 1972 vol 829 c396W
Mr. Laurance Reed

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, in view of the intention to grant oil and gas concessions in the western approaches to the English Cannel, he will ask the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organisation to review the adequacy of the 500 metre safety zone around offshore structures.

Mr. Anthony Grant

No. I have no reason to think that the Western Approaches call for exceptional treatment in this respect. In any event, the maximum size of a safety zone around an installation was prescribed by the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf, and any review would have to be in the context of the Law of the Sea Conventions.