§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list in tabular form the drilling rigs in operation in the North Sea in 1976 showing: (a) their flag derivation, (b) their owners and operators, (c) the oil companies to which they were respectively contracted and (d) in each instance those for which safety or equipment dispensations were given because they did not meet approved standards.
§ Dr. J. Dickson Mabon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 7th July 1977; Vol. 934, c. 612], circulated the following information:
155WAll rigs are registered in the United Kingdom with the Department of Energy as required by the Mineral Workings (Offshore Installations) Act 1971. Some are also registered as vessels in other countries, but full details are not available.
Every installation operating in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea has to have a valid certificate of fitness before it can enter these waters. No installation operated last year without such a certificate.