§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what recent representations he has received concerning the complaints of infringement by Royal Navy submarines and United States submarines of the code of safety in fishing areas; and if he will make a statement;
399W(2) what is the average amount of time spent investigating allegations concerning near-collisions bet-ween Royal Navy submarines and fishing vessels; to whom the reports of such investigations are submitted; who makes the decisions concerning the holding of courts martial where negligence of watch officers and others is concerned; and if he will make a statement;
(3) how many incidents involving allegations concern-ing near-collisions between (a) Royal Navy submarines or (b) United States Navy submarines and United Kingdom fishing vessels over the past seven years have been the subject of formal investigations; of these, how many led to courts martial; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HanleyI have received no recent formal representations concerning complaints of infringement of Royal Navy submarines and United States Navy submarines of the code of practice in fishing areas.
Since the formal adoption of the code of practice in October 1993, the only incident to have taken place between a Royal Navy submarine and a United Kingdom fishing vessel is that between HMS Valiant and the fishing vessel Audacious on 8 November 1993. A full investigation was immediately put in hand, which has recently been concluded. The findings, which are currently being examined, will be made available shortly to the members of the Department of Transport's fishing industry safety committee sub-group dealing with submarine and fishing vessels matters, which includes representatives of the fishermen's federations.
Reports of investigations are submitted via flag officer submarines to the commander-in-chief fleet. It is for the commander-in-chief fleet to make any decisions regarding courts martial. It is difficult to give an average for the amount of time spent investigating incidents; this depends on the complexity of each individual case.
Investigations into near collisions between United States Navy submarines and United Kingdom fishing vessels during the past seven years are a matter for the appropriate United States authorities. The code of practice governing the conduct of submarines when operating in the vicinity of fishing vessels does, of course, apply to all foreign submarines operating dived within United Kingdom territorial waters.