asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list the serious spillages of oil from tankers within coastal waters in the last five years, stating the

Name of Tanker			Location and date	Estimated spillage (tones)	Cause of spillage
"OLYMPIC ALLIANCE"		…	Dover Strait, 12 November 1975.	2,100	Collision with HMS ACHILLES.
"ELENI V"	…	…	Off Norfolk coast, 6 May 1978.	5,000	Collision with Bulk Carrier ROSELINE.
"CHRISTOS BITAS"		…	Off South Wales coast, 12. October 1978.	3,780	Grounding on Hats and Barrels Rocks.
"ESSO BERNICIA"		…	Sullom Voe Oil Terminal, 30 December 1978.	1,160	Contact with loading jetty.

I am not in a position to determine the apportionment of blame in the two collision incidents. I am awaiting the final outcome of the investigations by the Greek authorities into the "Christos Bitas" incident. In the case of the "Esso Bernicia", one of the attendant tugs was obliged to cast off at a critical stage. Fuller information on the first three incidents, including the measures taken, is contained in the reorts issued by my Department concerning the "Olympic Alliance" and "Christos Bitas", and in the fourth report from the Select Committee on Science and Technology and the Government's reply thereto (Cmnd. 7249) in the case of the "Eleni V". The spillage from the "Esso Bernicia" was dealt with by the harbour authority.