§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many oil pollution incidents in British territorial waters have been recorded by his Department in each of the past five years; what were the ecological consequences of each incident; what was the total cost in each case for the rescue of endangered sea birds and general clear-up; and how many incidents were traced to the polluter;
(2) what resources are available to his Department to monitor and prosecute owners and masters of vessels dumping oil in British territorial waters;
(3) how many prosecutions have followed cases of oil pollution caused by vessels in British territorial waters in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. PortilloThe numbers of oil pollution incidents in British territorial waters in the period 1985–88 reported to the Department's marine pollution control unit (MPCU) are as follows:
Number 1985 30 1986 24 1987 33 1988 43 These relate to shipping casualty, ship operational and shore installation spillages or threatened spillages. The figures for 1987 and 1988 reflect the extension of territorial sea limits from three to 12 miles. The 1984 figure is not readily available.
Assessing the ecological consequences of an oil spill is not a matter for my Department. However, the Nature Conservancy Council advises me that usually it is not possible to make an overall assessment of all the various factors involved. This is not only because all incidents are different and affect wildlife to a different extent, but also 616W because of the difficulty of obtaining the necessary information about species and habitats affected, particularly when the incident occurs offshore.
The rescue of seabirds affected by oil is undertaken by voluntary organisations such as the RSPCA and SSPCA. Details of their costs are not held centrally. Over the four-year period, the MPCU has incurred costs of around £90,000 in responding to pollution or threat of pollution to United Kingdom coastal, fishery, or sea bird interests arising from spillages of oil in British territorial waters. Details of costs incurred by local authorities on beach clean-up are not held centrally.
The likely source of pollution was identified on 65 occasions, but only 16 of these related to possible illegal ship operational discharges.
All masters of ships and pilots of military and civil aircraft, including those engaged by the MAFF and DAFS on fishery protection, are required to report sightings of oil in British territorial waters. The MPCU's contracted remote sensing aircraft carries out surveillance patrols of the shipping lanes around United Kingdom coasts in addition to responding to major spillages of oil reported by other agencies. The United Kingdom is also a member of the fourteen European nation memorandum of understanding on port state control whereby participating states undertake to inspect vessels arriving in their ports reported as suspected of having made an illegal discharge in the course of their voyage. In addition vessels entering their ports are regularly inspected to check inter alia, oil record books for any evidence of illegal oil discharges. In United Kingdom these are carried out by the Department's marine surveyors.
The numbers of prosecutions for illegal oil discharges from ships in British territorial waters in each of the last five years are:
Number 1983 19 1984 13 1985 10 1986 7 1987 10 1988 n.a. n.a. Not yet available.