Vol. 425 No. 7
304 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for the Marine the measures, if any, he has put in place to prevent a recurrence of the Shetland tanker disaster around the Irish coastal waters; if he intends to put new regulations in place for marine shipping using Irish ports with volatile cargoes; if he consulted with our European partners to draw up a new code for tankers using continental waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I consider that concerted action at community and international level is essential to eliminate threats to the environment from tankers and other vessels carrying hazardous cargoes. Pending concrete progress on the preventive measures now being advanced by the Community I am considering the scope for additional national measures to enhance existing pollution prevention capability. The measures which I am considering and which I identified as requiring urgent community action at the recent special Council on maritime safety and pollution prevention, include:
—ship traffic control systems and mandatory reporting procedures whereby the movements of tankers and all vessels carrying volatile cargoes can be monitored and restricted as necessary;
—the introduction of avoidance or exclusion zones in sensitive areas around coasts of high ecological areas;
—more comprehensive inspection of foreign vessels entering ports;
—the role of salvage and towing vessels.
In addition to measures to ensure higher standards and other safeguards to prevent accidents at sea, I have ordered a review of contingency plans for dealing with major marine pollution incidents.
