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Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Bill [Lords]

I want to deal with the point about ships registered in the Marshall islands. We must be careful not to suggest that, just because a place is small, it does not have a high quality flag. Many smaller nations with large fleets have high standards, but all vessels must be insured to cover their liability for any pollution that might be caused, and no uninsured vessel should be in our waters or come near our shores. The Government have powers to deal with any uninsured vessel travelling through our waters. The supplementary fund would be available to pay compensation as a result of accidents caused in our waters by uninsured vessels. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that, because some countries have not signed up to the fund, the burden will fall on the signatory countries. However, there are 98 signatories, so at least the burden will be spread out among them.