Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will seek a change through the International Maritime Organisation to ban ships from using heavy fuel oil when travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

The Government is supportive of the ongoing work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to address the risks associated with Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) in Polar Waters.

The use and carriage of HFO by ships in the Antarctic region is prohibited and the UK has been an active participant in the current international effort to identify appropriate control measures, including a possible ban, for the Arctic region.

The Government is in favour of proportionate, risk based controls, noting the vulnerability of the Arctic, and if the IMO work indicates a ban is necessary to mitigate the risk we will support such a step.