§ Mr. ElletsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the annual volume of oil entering the Irish sea from shipping for each of the last three years; and in each year what proportion of that was intentionally discharged.
§ Mr. NorrisThe annual volume of oil entering the Irish sea from shipping in each of the last three years—1991–93—is estimated as follows:
- 1991—1,500 tonnes—one incident involving a spill of approximately 1,450 tonnes vegetable oil and 50 tonnes engine oil.
- 1992—eight tonnes.
- 1993—figures not yet available.
These figures are based upon information extracted from the annual publication "Oil Pollution Survey Around the Coasts of the UK" produced by the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea. The 1993 figures are still being compiled.
There are no recorded figures for the legal operational discharges of oil from shipping traversing the Irish sea.