Cam Spirit (Hansard, 14 March 1991)

§ Mr. Dobson
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the name of the Silver Pit was changed to the Cam Spirit.

§ Mr. McLoughlin
The change of name was recorded in the register of ships on 4 September 1990.

§ Mr. Dobson
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the current refit of the Silver Pit/Cam Spirit will result in that vessel meeting all the requirements of recommendation 89 of the Cullen report on Piper Alpha.

§ Mr. McLoughlin
The refit is not complete, but the present intention of the owner is that the vessel will meet the relevant recommendations of the Cullen report.

§ Mr. Dobson
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all official inspections and surveys of the Silver Pit/Cam Spirit carried out since the Piper Alpha disaster.

§ Mr. McLoughlin
The Silver Pit was inspected by marine surveyors of the Department in July 1988 shortly after the Piper Alpha disaster. Further surveys were carried out in December 1988, January 1989 and December 1989. She was also inspected by authorities in the Netherlands in July 1990 for operation in their sector of the North sea.

§ Mr. Dobson
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the periods when the Silver Pit/Cam Spirit has been on duty in the North sea since the Piper Alpha disaster; and the nature of her duties in each case.

§ Mr. McLoughlin
After the Piper Alpha disaster the Silver Pit continued to operate at various locations in the North sea, but separate operational records of standby vessels are not maintained by the Department. This information will be contained in the ship's log books, but could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.

§ Mr. Dobson
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all modifications made to the Silver Pit/Cam Spirit between the Piper Alpha disaster and the current refit.
636W

§ Mr. McLoughlin
During this period no modifications were made to the structure of the vessel. But the fast rescue craft and the Department of Trade and Industry DOTI boat were renewed, the bow thruster unit replaced, the lubricating oil piping repaired, the generator engine re-aligned, and a number of other deficiencies made good.