All-year-round tug cover to help protect the UK's most vulnerable coastlines from marine accidents and pollution was announced yesteday by Shipping Minister Keith Hill.

Powerful tugs, or emergency towing vessels (ETVs), will be located throughout the year in each of the following four locations: in the Dover Strait from 1 April and, from 1 October, in the Minch, in the South West Approaches and in the Fair Isle. With the exception of the Dover Strait, tug cover in these locations is currently being provided in the winter season only.

In the Dover Strait, the existing provision builds on the partnership arrangements of last year with our colleagues of the French Maritime Administration and confirms an enhanced level of international
co-operation.

The improved coverage follows a yearlong review of the options for the cost-effective provision of ETVs around the UK coast over the next five to ten years.

Commenting, Mr Hill said, "Over the last ten years, maritime accidents have occurred almost as
frequently in the summer months as during the winter and bad weather is no longer confined to the traditional winter period.

"We know only too well from the Braer, Sea Empress and Erika incidents how much damage can or could be done to the marine environment in a major accident. As vessels passing through our
waters get larger, the potential threat they pose to our coastline and to wildlife increases.

"So, with tomorrow's (15 February) fifth anniversary of the Sea Empress incident very much in mind, I'm grateful to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for their painstaking work that has led to today's excellent news.

"For those who had been hoping for tug cover in the Irish Sea and St George's Channel, the situation hasn't yet been resolved. The review made it clear that an ETV for the area funded by the UK alone cannot be justified. We are continuing to talk to the Irish Government on the possibility of a jointly-funded ETV and will have to await the outcome of those discussions."

Keith Hill made the announcement of all-year-round tug cover in a written answer to a Parliamentary Question by David Stewart, MP (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber). A copy of Mr Hill's full answer is to be found below.

Notes:

The ETV Review Team was convened in autumn 1999 by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to review the options for the cost-effective provision of ETVs around the UK coast over the next five to ten years. Copies of the Review Team's Report are available from the DETR Press Office (tel: 020-7944 3387).

In his report Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas following the grounding of the tanker Braer in January 1993, Lord Donaldson recommended the provision of publicly funded ETVs. Initially, two vessels were chartered for the winter period only, covering the Dover strait and The Minch - the two primary locations identified by Lord Donaldson and, later, by the Belton Report in 1995 into ETV provision. The vessels were on station for the winters of 1994-95, 1995-96, and 1996-97.

Following the grounding of the tanker Sea Empress on 15 February 1996, a third vessel was chartered for the winter of 1996-97 covering the South West approaches. Ministers later agreed to the provision of a fourth ETV for the winter periods of 1999-2000 and 2000-01, located in the Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland), and that future ETV provision in this location should be determined by the ETV Review.

Written answer to a Parliamentary Question by David Stewart,
MP (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber)