HC Deb 28 July 1980 vol 989 cc517-8W
Mr. Grimond

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps are being taken to ensure that oil tankers on which navigating equipment has broken down report such failure to the coastguards or other appropriate authority.

Mr. Tebbit

Regulations will shortly be made which will require certain tankers of 1,600 GRT or more to notify defects to the appropriate authorities in advance of entering or when leaving a United Kingdom port. The voluntary ship movement reporting system in the English Channel and Dover Strait also provides for tankers carrying noxious cargoes to report defects in navigational equipment to the coastguard.