Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to inspect and take into custody uninsured tankers sailing through UK waters.

As a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNLCOS), the UK cannot disrupt the transit of vessels through its territorial waters for lacking insurance, as this is not considered to fall within any of the exceptions to ‘innocent passage’.

Vessels which call into UK ports, however, are subject to the Port State Control Regime, which includes the inspection of the insurance documentation for the vessels and enforcement action if necessary.