§ Mr. Michael Spicerasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the Government will consider setting up a standard procedure whereby oil from tankers which break up off the British coast, and the oil of which is as a result a threat to the coast, is burnt immediately and, if necessary, the tanker's hull destroyed by means of explosives.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisWe intend to study further the possibilities of burning any oil remaining in a wrecked tanker. There are, however, substantial difficulties and objections to dealing with a casualty by this method. On present information it seems unlikely that we could adopt burning as our standard response to such situations.