"torrey Canyon"

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 April 1967.

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Photo of Sir Henry Legge-Bourke Sir Henry Legge-Bourke , Isle of Ely 12:00, 10 April 1967

I well understand that it would be wrong for me in any way to prejudge what the Committee itself will decide, Mr. Speaker, and I was not seeking to do that. All I am doing is asking the House to visualise some of the problems which will confront us. I believe that the Government, very properly, if I may say so, are anxious that this inquiry should be seen to be thorough, should be open to the public, should be open to anyone who wishes to give evidence, and open for anyone to submit written evidence.

All these aspects of the problem confront us with a considerable mechanical difficulty which the Committee as at present constructed and at present served cannot, it seems to me, hope to meet in the way we would all wish it to be met. I believe that the Committee can be so staffed and serviced as to do it, but I ought to tell the House that we are at present in considerable difficulties for the service of both typists and printers. There is one clerk who serves the Committee, and no one could be more assiduous in his duties than he.

I believe that we shall have to duplicate our duties, having some members on nuclear reactors and some on the "Torrey Canyon", so that we shall need additional staff. I wonder whether the Government have fully considered, with the Leader of the House and the apropriate authorities, whether the staff are available. Unless they are, we shall fall down on the job, and none of us wishes to do that.

I have listened to the debate with the utmost interest, and I have listed some of the issues which have been put before us. I shall try to summarise those which I have noted on the way through the debate. First, there is the whole question of the legal position. I do not know from the Motion whether it is envisaged that we shall go into that matter. I can foresee that, whether it be the intention or not, we shall inevitably be involved in some legal issues, not only in international maritime law but in our own law and the rôle of local authorities. Many hon. Members, for instance, have talked about having a Minister in charge of the seven Departments which are concerned in an issue of this kind. This in itself would call for expert advice.

Next, there is the need for supplies to be made available to local authorities. The hon. Gentleman the Member for Bodmin (Mr. Bessell) used the phrase, "a blueprint for action on massive pollution", and, presumably, the Committee will be asked to advise on such a blueprint. At least, it is a possible subject for us to have to discuss.

There are, then, all the technical questions about whether demolition charges should be placed on board, whether bombing should be indulged in, or whether some other method should be used. There is the whole question of the use of decontaminating agents, the viscosity of oil, the feasability of firing oil whether in the ship or on the surface of the sea. There is also the question of detergent poisoning of flora and fauna.

My hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Mr. Murton) raised what is, perhaps, one of the most important matters of all, the consideration we must give to the possibility of the wreck of a nuclear-powered ship in the future. This is a new science on which we shall require much advice, but I am beginning to wonder who will give it, as the United States snip "Savannah" is the only nuclear-powered civil ship I know of.

There is the whole question of the use of booms, and pollution of the sub-strata of the beaches, which the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Dr. John Dunwoody) raised. Further, there is the question of the size, speeds and routes of tankers, and the subject of navigational aids. The hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne said that, perhaps, alarm clocks would have been more valuable than radar in this instance.

There are the questions of flags of convenience and of salvage risks. My hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Wells (Lt.-Cmdr. Maydon) raised the question of the feasibility of a long tow of a ship which has been holed as badly as the "Torrey Canyon" was. There is the question whether a Lloyd's A1 certificate has much relation to the standard of the crew or the captain of a ship.

I think that I have said enough to confirm what the hon. Member for Bodmin said as he concluded his speech, that this will be a tough run for the Committee. It certainly will be, and I am anxious to see that the Committee is capable of reaching the finishing post with credit, having done a job which will be of some value.

Perhaps the most pertinent question was asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Truro (Mr. Geoffrey Wilson)—the question of how the accident happened. I suppose that a quick answer would be that it happened because somebody forgot that it is never very wise at sea, or anywhere else, to take a collision course for a solid object, be it rock, lighthouse, light-ship or mainland. I am reminded of a quotation from Admiral Nimitz's book. The quotation hangs below a picture of Admiral Nimitz in the wardroom of the United States nuclear submarine, "Sea Wolf". It says: Nothing is more dangerous than that a seaman should fail to take the necessary precautions lest they should prove to have been unnecessary.Safety at sea for a thousand years has depended on exactly the opposite philosophy. Possibly the captain of the "Torrey Canyon" would agree.

If we are to go into the whole of this question in the Select Committee, everyone recognises the stint being given to hon. Members of that Committee. To do the job with the assiduity we should, and within the time we should take, hon. Members will have to continue their work during Parliamentary Recesses; they should be equipped with a better meeting place than they have, and they should have a bigger staff.

I am not sure that the Government really thought all this out before asking us to take on this job. If we take it on we shall do our best, but it will be very difficult. I hope that in his reply the right hon. Gentleman will at least give an assurance that he will go into this matter with the Leader of the House and the appropriate authorities, to make certain that we are not given a task that is impossible to perform adequately, and that it will be recognised that the hon. Members concerned will be doing a job that is often given to a separate tribunal sat up for the purpose, with trained counsel to question witnesses and so forth. We are as yet probing how we shall properly complete the job we are already doing.