§ Mr. John Garrettasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will arrange for the use of tagging samples in oil tankers so as to be able to identify the source of oil pollution at sea.
§ Mr. Tebbit"Tagging" raises administrative and technical problems because of the large number of different "labels" that would be required and the need to disperse the "label" throughout the cargo. Because the oil carried past our coast originates in a number of countries and is carried in tankers registered in many States, this technique could, even if feasible, only usefully be introduced on an international basis.
§ Mr. John Garrettasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will establish an organisation for the protection of British coasts against oil pollution.
§ Mr. TebbitThe responsibilities of the marine pollution control unit within my Department include taking charge of counter-pollution operations at sea in marine pollution emergencies and planning the United Kingdom response to such incidents.
§ Mr. John Garrettasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will equip coastal surveillance aircraft with side-looking airborne radar and computer-linked cameras for the detection of oil pollution at sea.
§ Mr. TebbitCivil and military aircraft are already asked to report sightings of oil in the waters around the United Kingdom. My Department is studying the feasibility of side-looking airborne radar and infra-red line-scanning techniques for oil spill management operations, but has no immediate plans to employ these systems for routine surveillance.
§ Mr. John Garrettasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will take steps to reduce the incidence of discharges of oily ballast at sea which results in the pollution of British beaches.
§ Mr. TebbitUnder international law such discharges are, generally speaking, prohibited within 50 miles of land. It is our policy to prosecute whenever adequate evidence can be obtained and we have jurisdiction, and to report the facts to the flag State when we do not have jurisdiction.
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§ Mr. John Garrettasked the Secretary of State for Trade how many cases of oil pollution in British waters were reported to his Department in the past 12 months; and in how many of these his Department brought prosecutions.
§ Mr. TebbitWe have received 22 reports of oil pollution at sea within United Kingdom territorial waters in the 12 months ending November 1980. In 19 cases there was no indication of the ship responsible. In one case involving a foreign ship a report was made to the flag State concerned. Of two cases involving United Kingdom registered ships, one is now being investigated; the other involved a fishery protection vessel which went aground and was destroyed with the agreement of all the authorities concerned.