§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) how many British vessels were made available to contain or disperse the "Amoco Cadiz" oil spill; when they were made available; and what use was made of them by the French authorities;
(2) what help was offered to the French authorities in relation to the oil spill from the "Amoco Cadiz" so far as the use of authorised spray dispersants were concerned; if that help was accepted; and what has been the total quantity of such dispersant deployed by British vessels to date.
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§ Mr. Clinton DavisAn offer of assistance was made on the morning of 17th March and six vessels equipped for spraying dispersants were, at the request of the French, provided on 19th March.
The total United Kingdom force mobilised in this operation has been some 25 naval and commercial vessels as the operation built up. About 165,000 gallons of very low toxicity dispersant have been used to date by these vessels in the dual role of providing assistance to the French authorities and protecting the British coasts including the Channel Islands.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Secretary of State for Trade, in view of recent problems created by the tanker "Amoco Cadiz", whether he is satisfied with the arrangements to protect the South-West of England from disaster if a similar accident should happen in British water; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisThe Government Departments and local authorities concerned have built up an organisation designed to deal with pollution hazards which was favourably reviewed in the report entitled "Accidental Oil Pollution of the Sea" published in 1976 by HMSO as Pollution Paper No. 8. The spillage caused by the "Amoco Cadiz" disaster was, however, on an unprecedented scale and the lessons to be learnt will be fully studied.
§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Trade what consultations he initiated with the French Government in relation to the "Amoco Cadiz"; and whether the use of RAF or RN planes, to destroy the wreck by bombing, was offered.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisApart from offers of assistance, liaison officers and technical experts were sent to Brest and subsequently to Cherbourg. I visited Brest on 24th March for discussions with the French Minister concerned and senior officials.
While we maintained continual contact with the French authorities throughout the operation, we were not asked to provide service aircraft to bomb the wreck.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will review the 108W whole procedure of transferring oil from one tanker to another off the coast of the South West of England, in view of recent troubles.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisThis procedure has been under careful consideration by the Departments concerned with the local authorities, but I am prepared to look at it again.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Secretary of State for Trade, in view of recent problems created by the tanker "Amoco Cadiz", if he remains satisfied that many super tankers should be fitted with only one propulsion screw and thus are helpless if a major breakdown occurs.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisBecause nearly all large tankers are fitted with single rudders, single screws provide greater manoeuvrability than twin screws at slow speeds. While the lessons to be learnt from the "Amoco Cadiz" disaster will be fully studied, it would not be practicable to convert existing tankers from single to twin screw, nor would this guarantee that no tanker would ever be left without power for propulsion.
§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Secretary of State for Trade, in view of recent problems created by the tanker "Amoco Cadiz", if he is satisfied that these super tankers have sufficient safety equipment to deal with failures to their steering rudders.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisThe current Safety of Life at Sea Convention 1960 requires tankers to be provided with main and auxiliary steering gears. It was agreed at the IMCO Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention Conference in February 1978 that in the future there should be duplication of control and steering gear power units.
The cause of the rudder failure in the "Amoco Cadiz" will be fully studied to see if further international measures are necessary.