Wreck Removal Convention Bill

Lord Bradshaw Excerpts

Friday 13th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bradshaw]

My Lords, I shall turn to one aspect of this Bill, which I generally support: that of insurance and its efficacy in other transport modes as well as those on the sea. It is all very well saying that the costs will be borne by the insurers but how certain are we that those people have valid insurance certificates in force? Perhaps the Minister will tell us something about the port inspection procedures which verify whether a person has insurance and whether that insurance is adequate to cover the potential risks involved if the ship becomes a wreck. Of course, there is also the issue of ships which are not signatories to the convention, and which are passing through waters within our economic area but not calling at a harbour within the United Kingdom where such certificates can be inspected.

I said that I would touch on other modes. Rail companies are bound to have insurance—I believe a certificate of £155 million which is enforceable. However, we all know from recent questions in the other place that the car insurance industry is in a bit of mess. Although the police are able to detect cars without insurance and do that very easily with their camera equipment, there are a large proportion of motorists using the roads in this country who are not adequately insured—or insured at all.

My main point in contributing to this debate is to say that I support the Bill. It is not right that the Government shift their responsibilities to harbour authorities and the general lighthouse authorities, which have a limited sum of money available to deal with wrecks. They have a duty to mark them and so forth, but the recovery of a significant wreck will cost a lot of money. Knowing the insurance industry as I do, I can say that it will not be in any great hurry to come forward to meet its liabilities. There will therefore probably be a period of time between a wreck being located and marked and a Government issuing a direction to remove it, and any money being forthcoming to the harbour or lighthouse authority to which orders are given.

Despite the frequent representations of the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, the lighthouse authorities do not have a bottomless pit of money into which they can dip. I hope that the Minister will say that, until the insurance claim is settled, the Government—the Treasury—will stand behind the authority which is removing the wreck and will pay the immediate bills that arise. Wrecks often have to be removed quickly. I look forward to further debates in Committee, but the House deserves some real reassurances from the Minister.