In its 44th report of Session 24-26, the cross-party House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has criticised the length of time taken by the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to implement recommendations from marine accident reports, made by the Merchant Shipping (Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure) Regulations 2025 (the Regulations). The Regulations set out various requirements for small and large vessels and introduce additional requirements arising from recommendations made in two reports by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
The report sets out the following concerns:
- A 2015 marine accident recommendation concerning the inspection of vessels before undertaking offshore races has taken ten years to implement, during which time a similar incident occurred in 2019.
- The MCA has not determined a timeline for the implementation of two further marine accident recommendations in relation to vessels covered by the Regulations.
- There are currently 13 other outstanding marine accident recommendations beyond those related to the Regulations which require implementation, with one dating back to 2016 which will not be implemented until 2026 at the earliest.
- The information shared with the Committee by the MCA about the outstanding marine accident recommendations is at odds with its claim that it responds to them “as quickly as possible”.
The Committee has found that the time taken by the MCA to implement marine accident recommendations is unacceptable. The Committee has urged the MCA to implement the two outstanding marine accident recommendations relating to vessels covered by the Regulations at the earliest opportunity.
Lord Watson of Invergowrie, Chair of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, said, “The distinct lack of urgency demonstrated by the MCA in implementing marine accident recommendations is unacceptable. While we’ve been told that the MCA responds as quickly as possible to all marine accident recommendations, in reality, it is sometimes taking several years for it to update guidance or introduce new legislation to implement the recommendations.
“Given the marine accident recommendations relate to the safety of lives at sea, they should be implemented far more quickly to avoid further serious marine incidents. We will be closely monitoring this and I have written to the Minister to ask when the committee can expect to see a significant improvement in the delivery of timely maritime legislation.”