HC Deb 20 November 2003 vol 413 cc1440-1W
Chris Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which British ports have facilities for treating ballast from ships. [140421]

Mr. Jamieson

All ports are required to provide waste reception facilities which are adequate to receive waste from ships normally using the port. However, the discharge of clean ballast water is not yet controlled by legislation and as such no ports in the UK have facilities for treating ballast water to reduce the threat of non-indigenous species invasion through ballast water exchange at sea.

If ballast water is contaminated by oil onboard an oil tanker then the discharge and treatment of this water is strictly controlled by oil pollution regulations. Some oil terminals, such as Flotta in Scapa Flow in Orkney, have local requirements that all ballast water from tankers is discharged ashore and their reception facilities may include treatment to remove oil cargo residue.

Chris Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents involving ships clearing out their ballast tanks there have been in(a) British waters and (b) Liverpool Bay in each year over the past 20 years; how many prosecutions have resulted; and what actions he is taking to prevent ships from clearing out their ballast tanks in British waters [140422]

Mr. Jamieson

The discharge of clean ballast water is not yet controlled by legislation and the UK do not keep records of this operation either in British Waters or in Liverpool Bay, or require that vessels do so.

However, existing legislation does impose strict controls on the discharge of oily ballast water. This is enforced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) through means such as aerial surveillance and inspections on vessels. As of 1 August 1999, all discharges of oil are strictly controlled in North West European waters as designated under International Convention. In the prosecutions that the MCA have secured it is very difficult to apportion the discharge to contaminated ballast water.