§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral statement of 19 April,Official Report, column 22, if he will list the three vessels which have entered Montenegrin ports since November 1992, showing the countries of registration and ownership, the estimated cargo in each case and information available to him on the current whereabouts of the vessel; if he will set out in respect of each vessel the actions taken by NATO or the Western European Union monitoring forces and the reason for their failure to divert the vessel; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggSince November 1992 the NATO and Western European Union ships in the Adriatic have challenged over 9,000 vessels, boarded 599 and diverted 137. The operation is making a most valuable contribution to efforts to block illegal trade to Serbia and Montenegro.
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs told the House on 19 April, a small number of vessels have managed to get through to Montenegrin ports. The three vessels he referred to are the Dimitrakis, a Maltese-flagged vessel believed to be carrying around 5,000 tonnes of petroleum coke, Novotsak II, a Greek-flagged tanker believed to be carrying over 20,000 tonnes of oil, and the East River, a Greek-owned tanker believed to be carrying around 50,000 tonnes of gas oil. We also believe that there may have been a fourth in December, early on in the NATO/WEU operation. Since my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made his statement to the House, we have received information that a further three vessels may have got through. This information is being followed up urgently.