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Oil Tankers

Volume 957: debated on Tuesday 7 November 1978

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asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied that his Department is fully aware of the salvage technology involved in dealing with an oil tanker casualty and is compatent to assess the advice given by experts in the field and has the capacity to reach and implement the right decisions without delay.

In such cases my Department seeks the advice of its standing panel of salvage experts from industry and the Ministry of Defence. Together with the expertise of naval architects, marine engineers and former masters of ships who serve as the Department's marine surveyors, I believe that we have the capacity to reach and implement the right decisions promptly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, in the light of the three major incidents involving oil tankers between March and October in the current year, he remains satisfied with his Department's estimate that a major incident involving a laden oil tanker can be expected, about once in a decade in the Dover Strait and less frequently in less congested waters, and that contingency plans should be geared to such an estimate.

Serious though the "Eleni V" and "Christos Bitas" incidents were, the amounts of oil spilled were not out of line with the generality of such incidents or remotely comparable with the amount spilled from the "Amoco Cadiz". Consequently, I see no reason to revise the thinking underlying our review of contingency measures.

Percentage change compared with previous quarterPercentage increase over corresponding quarter of previous year
IncreaseDecrease
October—December 1977
Imports5·011·8
Exports1·415·0
January—March 1978
Imports9·816·5
Exports1·911·8
April—June 1978
Imports14·720·2
Exports10·212·1
July—September 1978
Imports8·920·4
Exports8·24·5

Source: United Kingdom Overseas Trade Statistics, SITC Sections 5–8 inclusive.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what share of world trade in manufactured goods British exports had for each of the last 12 quarters.

The United Kingdom's share of world trade in manufactured goods is normally measured in terms of