HC Deb 15 September 2003 vol 410 cc509-10W
Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulations apply(a) within UK waters and (b) beyond the 12 mile limit, for the ship to ship transfer of oil and other chemicals. [129160]

Mr. Jamieson

Regulations specific to ship to ship transfer operations within UK waters, remain in draft form as a Statutory Instrument and Merchant Shipping Notice at this time. No specific regulations apply beyond the 12 mile limit.

Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contingency plans are in place for dealing with spillages within and beyond the 12 mile limit from ship to ship oil and chemical transfers in Lyme Bay; and if he will make a statement. [129161]

Mr. Jamieson

Within the 12 mile limit of UK waters, transfers comply with draft legislation and include contingency planning for oil spills, mainly through the mechanism of Ship's Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (SOPEPS). Where cargoes being transferred are of a particularly persistent nature, appropriate oil recovery, collection and containment measures are also required in the form of a recovery vessel on stand-by throughout the operations.

Beyond the 12 mile limit, but within the UK's Pollution Control Zone, which can stretch up to 200 miles off shore, pollution resulting from ship to ship transfers would be treated in the same way as marine pollution from any other source.

Any Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) response would follow the National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations and would be tailored to the circumstances of the incident.

Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of oil and chemical spillage have been reported as a consequence of ship to ship transfers of oil and chemicals off the UK coast in each of the past five years. [129162]

Mr. Jamieson

There have been no incidents of oil and chemical spills as a consequence of ship to ship transfer operations off the UK coastline in any of the past five years.

Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many ship to ship transfers of oil and chemicals took place off the UK coastline in each of the last five years(a) in total and (b) broken down by Government office region. [129163]

Mr. Jamieson

A break down of the number of ship to ship transfers off the UK coastline in the last five years is given in the table:

Year Total Broken down by

Government office region
1999 1 Scottish waters
2000 1 South west
2001 5 4 South west
1 East
2002 3 2 East
1 South west
2003 to date 5 3 South west
2 East

Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how his. Department monitors the ship to ship transfer of oil and chemicals off the UK coast. [129164]

Mr. Jamieson

There are only two locations outside harbour limits and within UK waters where ship to ship transfers are allowed to take place, namely off Lyme Bay, Dorset and Southwold, Suffolk. The industry has accepted current craft regulations governing these transfers as a common standard.

Agents for ship to ship transfers have to make an application to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) counter pollution branch at least 72 hours prior to the proposed transfer taking place. Permission for the transfer to proceed is only given after thorough assessment and may include limitations or specific requirements. Copies of the draft Statutory Instrument and Merchant Shipping Notice are supplied to the applicant for reference.

Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how his Department enforces regulations covering the ship to ship transfer of oil and chemicals off the UK coast(a) within the 12 mile limit and (b) beyond the 12 mile limit. [129165]

Mr. Jamieson

The regulations governing ship to ship transfers are currently in draft form through Statutory Instrument, The Merchant Shipping (Ship to Ship Transfers) Regulations 1999 and Merchant Shipping Notice 1739, Ship to Ship Transfers of Dangerous or Polluting Cargoes at Sea. Although these regulations remain in draft form, industry has accepted them as good working practice and their contents are applied when assessing and vetting applications for ship to ship transfers within UK water.

There are no regulations controlling ship to ship transfer activities beyond the 12 mile limit.