§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what have been the total costs incurred to date by the marine pollution control unit in clean-up operations following the Sea Empress incident; and what has been the cost of(a) the charter of oil skimming and recovery vessels, (b) the hire of road tankers for collected oil, (c) aerial spraying operations, (d) beach cleaning operations and (e) other related activities; [23287]
(2) what estimate he has made of the likely final total costs to be incurred by the marine pollution control unit in all clean-up operations and related activities following the Sea Empress incident. [23288]
§ Mr. NorrisI have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from C. J. Harris to Ms Joan Walley, dated 16 April 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about MPCU costs following the Sea Empress incident.PQ 127CThe final cost of the operation is estimated to be between £7m and £9m. To date the MPCU have received invoices totalling just over £3m.PQ 137C(a) The charter of oil skimming and recovery vessels invoiced to date, including manpower and the hire of equipment, is £1,140,040. There are still a number of invoices for vessel charter outstanding.(b) The hire of road tankers for collected oil was organised through the local oil industry and local authority roads and highways departments. Information on these costs is not currently available.(c) Aerial spraying and surveillance costs amount to £387,796 for aircraft and £317,796 for mobilising and transporting dispersant and for purchasing replacement dispersant.(d) Beach cleaning operations are still ongoing in a number of locations. To date the MPCU has been invoiced for £1,094,356.(e) Scientific support costs, car hire, overtime, travel and subsistence and minor miscellaneous items amount to £67,429.