Bungle made tanker accident a disaster

A catalogue of avoidable failures, bungled bureaucracy and allegations of financial loss turned the Sea Empress accident into a disaster, according to a leaked report.

The draft document, leaked to the BBC and due to be published within the next two months by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, has put the Government under considerable pressure to review procedures designed to protect the coastline from pollution threats.

Although the shipping minister, Lord Goschen, criticised the leaked information and the furore it has caused as "inappropriate and premature", opposition politicians described the reported document as "deeply disturbing" and called on the Government to take immediate action to ensure better co-ordination of salvage operations.

The 147,000-tonne Sea Empress, which sailed under the Liberian flag, ran aground off Milford Haven in south-west Wales last February. Carrying crude oil from Scotland, the tanker failed to manoeuvre correctly into the two-mile wide entrance to the refineries.

A pilot was on board as she approached the harbour, but she hit the rocks. The charts he was following are said to have been inaccurate

According to the BBC's account of the draft report, "time-consuming and unnecessary bureaucratic procedures" resulted in the ship being grounded for seven days rather than two. The ship was carrying almost 130,824 tons of oil and spewed 70,000 tons into the sea. The massive spill, the full environmental impact of which is still to be evaluated, cost United Kingdom taxpayers an estimated pounds 10m.

Marine scientists are still studying the effects, especially those on two sea-bird colonies in the area which are among Europe's most valuable. Environmentalists say that the overall biological damage may not be fully understood for a further decade.

When the report is published it is expected to say that the navigational charts around the mouth of the harbour were inadequate and not up to date. Inaccurate information was alleged to have been given on the tides in the area and the rescue operation is described as "salvage by committee".

Commenting on the report, Captain Ian Evans, a former marine safety adviser, said that the captain of a local pilot ship had told the salvage operators that the Sea Empress could have been moved in two days after the initial grounding. The advice was ignored.

In the attempted clean-up, 500 tons of chemical dispersant was used, the largest volume ever in a UK rescue.

Guy Linley-Adams, conservation director at the Marine Conservation Society, claimed that the first priority when the ship ran aground was finance. "We should never again allow the financial liabilities to cloud the judgement of those seeking to save a stricken and heavily laden tanker."

Mr Linley-Adams said the Government should now adopt a "command system" similar to that used in France where one person is appointed overall controller of a disaster with full authority that cannot be overridden by insurers' demands.

Labour's transport spokes- man, Andrew Smith, said the draft findings were deeply disturbing. He added: "It is alarming that the charts for the approaches to Britain's biggest oil port are reported to be inaccurate." He urged Sir George Young, the Secretary of State for Transport, to ensure checks were made on the accuracy of charts for the approaches to other ports and heavily trafficked sea-lanes.

Yesterday it remained possible that the final report would have altered conclusions. Captain Peter Marriott, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, and one of the report's authors, said he was required to consult "those whose reputations may be adversely affected by my report".

He added: "Until I have had an opportunity to consider any comments I receive from the individuals concerned, my report cannot be finalised."

The report is also highly critical of the competence of harbour pilots, revealing that "the training and examination of pilots at Milford Haven are unsatisfactory and in need of improvement".

John Pearn, a pilot who was on board when the ship grounded, was initially suspended but is back handling supertankers after being reinstated by Milford Haven Port Authority.