Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the fire on the X-Press Pearl, what recent assessment he has made of fire safety on container ships.

The recent fire and explosion on board the X-Press Pearl and the subsequent environmental impact of the incident highlights the importance of fire safety on container ships. There are two main international standards applicable in these cases, these are the International Code for Fire Safety Systems and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code. These are implemented in the UK and compliance is monitored through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) survey and inspection regime.

The MCA is part of an international working group assessing certain provisions of the IMDG Code and developing amendments which would enhance safety and fire prevention. These amendments will be made to the next edition of the IMDG Code.

The MCA is also reviewing existing legislation related to the carriage of dangerous goods by sea and fire safety systems on ships and will be consulting on these later this year. The proposed amendments would allow a swifter implementation of new provisions and standards so that the UK can quickly embed the latest provisions for dangerous goods and fire safety on containers ships into domestic regulations.