Clause 9
Energy Bill
2:15 pm
Hugo Swire (East Devon, Conservative)
May I just second what the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East has just said? In my own constituency in East Devon, there has been tremendous concern about ship-to-ship transfers of heavy oil, particularly from Russian ships. More recently, we have had a marine tragedy which could have been a lot worse—that of the ship the MSC Napoli, which the Minister and other members of the Committee will be familiar with. That experience was very interesting, because I first encountered the SOSREP, Robin Middleton, in that capacity, and he did an extremely good job.
At the beginning of that situation, members of the Committee may remember the almost 19th or 18th century wrecking scenes on the beach. There was confusion at the time as to who the lead agency was. In the aftermath of the Napoli having been grounded, there was a misunderstanding or a lack of clarification as to which was the lead agency—whether it was the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary or whether it was SOSREP, in the form of Robin Middleton. On clarification, it was SOSREP who then really took the lead in all this.
I think it is important; I agree with the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East that it does need to be clarified as to the respective roles so that in the event of an emergency, such as the one I have just alluded to, the emergency services—and indeed, all those agencies involved—know who takes the lead position.