§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what help the UK Government have made available to(a) the Spanish and (b) the Portuguese authorities to help tackle the environmental repercussions of the Prestige oil disaster. [84740]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) received a request on 13 November from the Spanish embassy via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for offers of assistance for an at-sea clean-up operation, following an oil spill from M/V Prestige.
An offer of immediate salvage and counter pollution advice and equipment was passed to the Spanish embassy. This request was repeated on 14 November by the European Commission's Civil Protection and Environmental Accidents Unit, which was assessing availability of equipment for collective help to Spain.
On 14 November the MCA offered Spain a range of equipment and expertise, outlining the elements of the UK's own oil spill response capability that could be 670W utilised in this incident. This offer was enhanced on the 19th with information about an oil spill recovery vessel—the Sefton Supporter owned by Gulf Offshore that operates in the Irish Sea.
On 21 November the MCA received a further request from the European Commission's Civil Protection Co-operation Mechanism, on behalf of Spain and Portugal, for information on the availability, costs/hire charges and mobilisation time of specialised equipment for the recovery of heavy oil. On 24 November MCA's offer of assistance was accepted and, after discussion with the Spanish Authorities, three Artie lorries with specialist equipment and one flat bed lorry equipped with a 10ft crane was sent by ferry, due to arrive in La Coruna 28 November. The MCA are also sending five trained personnel to operate and help deploy this equipment.
Additionally an aerial surveillance capability was requested by Spain on 27 November and this is being deployed by 3 December.
The Spanish Authorities also contacted Gulf Offshore directly requesting the services of the Sefton Supporter, which arrived in La Coruna on 27 November.Defra's Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science has also contacted the scientists working on impact assessment and offered any technical assistance they may find helpful.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will press the European Commission to bring forward the date on which the use of EU waters by single hull oil tankers will be forbidden. [84741]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe recent amendment to the MARPOL Convention agreed in the International Maritime Organization, and implemented within the EU by regulation No. 417/2002, has just come into effect. Single hull tankers having no additional protection, such as the Prestige, must be phased out in order of age between 2003 and 2007. Single hull tankers fitted with partial protection must be phased out in order of age between 2003 and 2015. Each category of single hull tanker will have to satisfy an additional requirement for a rigorous condition assessment survey to be able to operate after 2005 and 2010 respectively. The use of waters of EU member states is regulated in accordance with compliance with the United Conventions on the Law of the Sea.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will press the EU to set a maximum size for oil tankers allowed in EU waters. [84742]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere is no evidence that reducing the size of oil tankers would lead to an overall improvement in safety. The implication of using smaller tankers is that more voyages would be needed to carry the same volume of oil and related cargoes.