Shipping Safety (Hansard, 3 May 2001)

§ Mr. Hill

The Queen's Speech on 6 December outlined the Government's intention to draft a Safety Bill. We shall use this opportunity to introduce three groups of measures to improve the safety of merchant shipping in the UK and safety at ports and harbours.

The first group would improve the way we deal with maritime safety incidents. The number of parties who are liable in the event of a marine pollution incident would be increased to improve access to compensation for claimants. We are also considering raising the limit of liability for compensation arising from the death of or injury to passengers on board foreign registered ships in UK waters from £37,000 to £250,000. The existing power of the Secretary of State to issue direction would be widened to equate power to secure the safety of a ship with those to prevent pollution. Fire authorities would be allowed to recover the cost of fighting fires at sea.

The second group would improve the enforcement of shipping safety law. The Secretary of State has a power to make orders to apply merchant shipping legislation to things used at sea which are not currently regarded as ships. This power will be extended to waters which are not sea. It will be made easier to prosecute non-UK vessels for breaches of safety legislation. The penalties for safety offences will be increased so that they are on a par with those for pollution offences and health and safety offences on land.

The third group make some improvements to the powers harbour authorities have to regulate marine safety so as to help them to implement the Port Marine Safety Code, which was developed after the grounding of the Sea Empress in Milford Haven in 1996. We are also including new procedures enabling a harbour authority to be 753W wound-up on safety grounds or to relinquish pilotage powers, both of which would save having to promote private legislation.