§ Mr. AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take to prevent future oil spillages in the English channel to protect the south coast from pollution; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PortilloI have been asked to reply.
Under the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships 1973, and its protocol, no oil or oily mixtures may be discarded within prescribed distances from land; and ships are required to be so designed, equipped and operated that when a discharge is permitted the oil content has to be kept to the minimum specified. We have taken a number of positive measures to enforce the convention. Ships in the United Kingdom port are inspected to check that their pollution prevention equipment and operational practices are satisfactory. Reception facilities are made available to receive oil residues retained on board. At sea, as from April last year surveillance aircraft have been employed by the United Kingdom to undertake regular patrols over the shipping lanes around the United Kingdom to detect and deter ships discharging oil in contravention of the convention.