§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what procedures he has in place to ensure continuous risk assessment and monitoring to prevent serious oil pollution incidents in UK waters arising from oil extraction activities; and if he will make a statement. [60808]
§ Mr. BattleThe recently implemented Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998 require that for each installation involved in oil extraction activities a plan is submitted, which includes an assessment of the risk of spills. These plans must be reviewed every 5 years, or earlier if there are any major changes which may affect the validity or effectiveness of the plan.
DTI inspectors travel offshore to inspect installations on a regular basis to ensure that operators are in compliance with any legislative requirements. In addition, all offshore installations are routinely over-flown by the anti-pollution surveillance aircraft. Operators are obliged by law to report all spills of oil resulting from their activities.