HC Deb 21 May 2003 vol 405 cc771-2W
Mr. Waterson

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the maximum penalty is for the(a) owners and (b) operators of vessels causing pollution in UK waters. [114840]

Mr. Jamieson

Pollution in UK waters can be caused by various substances. The following gives the maximum penalties for each different substance.

Type of pollution Maximum penalty on summary conviction (£) Maximum penalty on conviction on indictment
Oil 250,000 owner and manager A fine owner and manager
Garbage 25,000 owner and manager A fine owner
Chemical 25,000 owner A fine owner

Mr. Waterson

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vessels were prosecuted for pollution incidents in UK waters in each of the last five years. [114838]

Mr. Jamieson

Individual harbour authorities prosecute pollution incidents within harbour authority limits, and the Department has no figures regarding the numbers of their prosecutions. Outside of those areas, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) deal with prosecutions. They have conducted the following numbers of prosecutions.

Number of prosecutions
1998 6
1999 3
2000 2
2001 0
2002 2