HL Deb 05 February 1986 vol 470 cc1266-8WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the most recent figures for the notification to the relevant British and French authorities by masters of ships entering the Channel with dangerous cargoes, what proportion of the total number of such ships this is thought to be, whether such notification includes other than bulk cargoes, and if so which; and on how many occasions in recent years the authorities have been notified of the loss overboard of dangerous cargoes.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (The Earl of Caithness)

The British Government's existing recommendation to report is addressed to masters of loaded oil and chemical tankers, and gas carriers of 1,600 gross tonnes and over. The French regulations apply to any vessel carrying hydrocarbons or some other dangerous cargo intending to enter French territorial waters. Neither recording system differentiates between bulk and other dangerous cargo.

For 1985 the total number of reports received by the United Kingdom was 8,660, and 4,758 by the French. Based on the last Traffic Survey (1977) this is estimated to be about 15 per cent. of the total number of ships passing through the Strait of Dover.

During the last two years my department has received eleven reports of packaged dangerous goods being lost overboard. The French authorities keep no separate records of reports of dangerous goods lost overboard.