West Cornwall MP Andrew George, is stepping up his campaign to stop pollution incidents which are killing thousands of seabirds.

Mr George has already made representations to Ministers, the UK Major Ports Group and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) about the need to regulate and prosecute ships which discharge pollutants following the recent incidents of birds being stricken by Polyisobutylene (PIB). He is also working with the UK Chamber of Shipping and the RSPB.

He has now tabled two Parliamentary motions calling upon the Government to introduce a voluntary code of practice to require tankers to declare at each port they enter that their excess PIBs will be handled by portside waste handling facilities and not discharged at sea. Mr George is also calling for an urgent review into the legal classification of PIB through the International Maritime Organisation with a view to banning its discharge at sea altogether.

Mr George said: “The discharging of PIBs should be banned. But that may take years to achieve through international negotiation. That’s why, in the interim, I’m calling on Ministers to support my proposal for a voluntary code between the shipping and port sectors to ensure that all waste PIBs can be handled by port waste facilities.

“It’s important that we press for this voluntary code. It could be used to deny port access for those ships which refuse to sign up to an undertaking that they will land their polyisobutene and other pollutants as a hazardous waste, rather than polluting the seas by discharging it there.

“Unfortunately, and as we have seen, unless something is done it seems that a minority of ship captains believe they have a licence to pollute. At the same time, these recent incidents must be investigated. The Government must ensure that proper protections are put in place and those ships which continue to flout the rules are identified and prosecuted.”