§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to include the details of the anti-fouling paint in use as part of the information which harbour masters are entitled to call for before permitting a ship to dock.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe International Maritime Organisation has recommended that release rates of harmful compounds in anti-fouling paints should be controlled, that standard means of measuring this should be developed and, more generally, that the effectiveness of control measures should be monitored. However, there is no evidence that the anti-fouling paints on ocean-going vessels significantly affect aquatic life and, except in dry-docking operations, no controls are planned at present.