§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration his Department has given to examining the Australian Government report entitled "Ships of Shame"; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NorrisThe informative and comprehensive report "Ships of Shame", produced by the Australian Parliament's House of Representatives Standing Committee on Transport, Communication and Infrastructure, has been considered by my Department. The report serves to reinforce our determination to drive sub-standard shipping from the seas. Our commitment is demonstrated by the continuing high priority we accord to inspections of ships visiting our ports; and our backing for appropriate action at the International Maritime Organisation (IM0). There, our work includes support for the fitting of hull stress monitoring systems on certain ship types, which has, in turn, led to an initial recommendation to IMO's Maritime Safety Committee that such systems be fitted on solid bulk carriers of 20,000 tonnes deadweight and over. We are also playing a full role in the IMO sub-committee on the flag state implementation of IMO instruments.