Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Port Waste Reception Facilities) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I thank the Minister, for bringing these regulations before the House today. There is much to support in the earlier measures within them relating to oily water and garbage. Efforts to clear up the environment and methods to ensure that the environment stays clean are naturally to be welcomed, and we on these Benches welcome them very much. We continue to support them, particularly the provisions within the 2000 regulations. My comments today will not therefore be in the nature of opposition—indeed, there is very little to oppose. I will instead invite the Minister to answer one or two questions on the consequences of these regulations. I hope that he can answer them and in so doing provide reassurances that I know the industry might want. The Minister might have suggested part of this in his introduction, but will he provide greater context to the Government's decision vis-à-vis the timing of this instrument? Why has it been introduced at this stage? He did say a bit about that, but as the notes point out, these provisions were contained within the original regulations in 2000, and they amend the 2003 regulations. Nine years seems an awfully long time to wait for them to come into force. Perhaps the Government have been kind to industry, or given operators extra time to ensure that they have established the appropriate sewage reception facilities. Has the industry enjoyed a period of grace? Perhaps the Minister might further explain that. The Chamber of Shipping's response to the consultation on these regulations suggests not. A survey of its members revealed that: "““Very few have any shore based reception facilities nor had they any plans to install suitable size tanks ashore””." I would like to understand a little more about why this is the case. Will the Minister provide some context on this? What is the reason for this? I also invite the Minister to outline to the House what sort of research the Government have conducted to assess the preparedness of the industry for the enforcement of these regulations? What has that research revealed? Do the Government agree with the Chamber of Shipping's consultation submission? For example, what proportion of UK ports have facilities to process sewage? Which ports are they, and, equally importantly, which ports do not have appropriate facilities in place? If the Chamber of Shipping is right and a significant number of ports do not have the facilities in place, there will almost certainly be a number that will fail to comply with the regulations. Many others will incur significant costs in establishing the necessary facilities, especially now they are running against the clock. What type of penalty regime will the Government enforce for ports that do not have the facilities in place because they cannot afford them or because they do not establish the facilities in time for other reasons? Will the Minister provide more detail on how the Government expect to penalise offenders, at what rate and how they will enforce these regulations? I raise these points because all the evidence from the consultations is that the industry is in a desperate position. Freight rates for containers shipped from Asia to Europe have, I am informed, fallen to virtually zero, and the industry faces sustained pressure from foreign competition. I am concerned about what effect this measure may have on the industry's ability to compete. Will the Minister reassure the House that other countries are also adopting these regulations and that our industry will not be hit hard by overzealous application of the regulations or by overpenalisation? Now is not the time to hinder the industry, but to support it. My final question will dwell a little longer on the penalty regime. What does the Minister expect the policing of these regulations to cost and how will they work in practice? I do not want to detain the House any longer. We do not oppose these regulations, but we have concerns about their implementation, their practical application and the devil contained in the detail. I hope the Minister will reassure me and the industry in his response.