§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what investigations his Department has carried out following the two fishing boat accidents in the Irish Sea on 31 January and 14 February; what the result of those investigations has been; and what further action will be taken to ensure that action plans are in place in fishing ports to address similar accidents in the future; [44466]
(2) what investigations have been carried out into submarine activity in the Irish Sea, with particular reference to the area between St. John's Point at Killough, County Down and Dundalk, County Louth; and what the result of those investigations has been. [44467]
§ Mr. IngramRoyal naval submarines operating in waters frequented by UK fishing vessels are governed by a code of practice, mutually agreed by the Royal Navy and the UK fishing industry, which is designed to ensure the safety of fishing vessels. Additionally, it is mandatory for royal naval and allied submarines to report their position once a fishing vessel incident is reported. I can confirm that, following internal investigations, no submarines were operating in the vicinity of either of the two incidents referred to. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch have confirmed that they are satisfied with this conclusion.
The Royal Navy will, in general, respond to such incidents if requests for assistance are received from the Coastguard or the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.