§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what use is made of satellite tracking systems in detecting pollution incidents in United Kingdom waters. [145240]
§ Mr. JamiesonMy Department have been involved in recent trials which made use of satellite data for detecting pollution incidents in UK waters. Overall the trials were deemed a success.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has recently let a contract with a satellite company to provide analysed images from satellites linked specifically to the identification of oil spills. This will run for two months during January and February, and will cover the English Channel and South West approaches.
A further operational programme using satellites for oil detection is scheduled for March over a period of five months. This will be a transnational project involving Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.