THE UNITED KINGDOMS RESPONSE TO SALVAGE AND MARINE POLLUTION

Recent Developments in the UK

Public attention in the United Kingdom really became focused on the impact of major oil pollution in March 1967 when the tanker TORREY CANYON hit the Seven Stones rocks, between the Isles of Scilly and Lands End. She was carrying 117,000 tonnes of Kuwait crude oil. Some 30,000 tonnes escaped straight away and a further 20,000 tonnes over the next 7 days. After the failure of an attempt by salvors to drag her off the rocks another 50,000 tonnes was lost. Finally she was bombed to burn off the 20,000 tonnes or so still on board.

The UK was effectively unprepared for a disaster on this scale and the spraying of industrial detergent on shore to minimise pollution of the coasts created more problems than it solved. However the incident soon faded in the public conscience – after all there was human error involved and little chance of the same situation reoccurring.

This became the first of the modern drivers towards the present UK Government response to incidents involving pollution.

The pace was quickened when in 1993 the tanker BRAER discharged 84,700 tonnes of cargo and 1,600 tonnes of HFO into the seas around the Shetland Islands.

The Braer

 This led to a review by Lord Donaldson into the UK’s means of protecting itself from the threat of pollution from merchant shipping and to placement of the first UK Government Emergency Towing Vessels (ETVs).

Lord Donaldson conducted a further review into the powers of State intervention and the command and control and salvage response following the SEA EMPRESS disaster in 1996.

The past three years has seen:

  • The birth of a single Government Agency, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), to address all aspects of marine regulation and incident response.
  • The introduction of a Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP).
  • Development of Government owned / operated response capability.
  • Development of pro-active state intervention into maritime incidents and salvage.
  • The introduction of a new National Contingency Plan.

The introduction of new state powers of intervention for the offshore oil and gas industry.