Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport to the Chair of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee on 1 March 2018, whether the UK is now fully compliant with its maritime international convention obligations; and if not, how many of the 381 amendments to UK law are outstanding.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Her Majesty’s Government recently confirmed to the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, that any outstanding obligations arising from amendments to international maritime conventions, will be implemented into UK law in 13 Statutory Instruments; all of these will be made by early 2023. Since that commitment was made in October, one more Statutory Instrument has entered into force, leaving 12 outstanding.
A total of 381 amendments to the international conventions were identified as outstanding in 2017. Since then, the Her Majesty’s Government has completed 45 maritime legislative packages. We are confident that completion of the remaining 12 Statutory Instruments by early 2023 will fully implement all of the outstanding amendments.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the new national strategy for maritime security.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Following the publication of the first UK National Strategy for Maritime Security in 2014, the cross-government process to refresh the National Strategy for Maritime Security is underway and is being led by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many vessels by (1) size, and (2) type, are operated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Maritime and Coastguard operates one tug, the IVEOLI BLACK, which is 70 metres in length at 2,283 gross tonnage. In addition, they have two training vessels, the MCA HUNTER at 14 metres and the MCA HAWK at 9.75 metres.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the expected final (1) completion date, and (2) cost, of Crossrail; and what lessons are there, if any, for the HS2 project.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Crossrail comes under the remit of the Mayor of London.
In August 2020, Crossrail Limited announced that the central section of the railway will open in the first half of 2022. Following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west and between Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east, will be introduced.
Crossrail Ltd.’s overall cost forecast of completing the programme is up to £18.9 billion. This includes Network Rail On-Network Costs for the surface works but excludes the new trains and depot.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to UK ports to develop their shore power facilities.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Shore power has a role to play in immediately reducing emissions from vessels visiting ports. Shore-side low and zero carbon fuelling, including bunkering of such fuels, are in scope of the £20m Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, which will fund feasibility studies and initial technology trials, to support the transition to zero emission shipping and cleaner, greener ports. As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, published on 14 July, we will consult in winter 2021 on how Government can support the wider deployment of shore power, including consideration of regulatory interventions, for both vessels and ports, that could drive deployment as we transition to a net zero world, and bring forward appropriate measures.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to conduct a review to ensure adequate monitoring and protection of the UK’s exclusive economic zone, territorial seas and coastline.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The monitoring and protection of UK waters is a priority for maritime security leads across Whitehall including the Ministry of Defence, Home Office and the Department. As part of this joined up, multilayered approach, the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) monitors UK waters using a range of maritime domain awareness technology such as sensors, radar and aerial surveillance. This capability, as well as the level of data and awareness it provides, is reviewed regularly by officials and Ministers.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a contingency plan in place for British Ship Owners in the event of war or disaster causing the total loss of communications with British merchant shipping.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport routinely assesses and monitors the risks posed to British-flagged shipping worldwide, using intelligence assessments and reporting from a range of HMG partners. Guidance and advice is updated and shared with industry on a regular basis; emergent risks and associated advice are distributed through a resilient communications system.
In the event of war or disaster, causing the total loss of communications with British-flagged vessels, appropriate contingency plans and proven structures are in place to ensure ship owners have access to the required guidance and full range of support available from HMG.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to contribute to accelerating the decarbonisation of the maritime industry; and whether they expect to contribute to this initiative through (1) the UK Infrastructure Bank, or (2) alternative means.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
To support the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, Government is investing £20 million in a Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. This competition will support the UK design and development of clean maritime technologies as part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. Launched on 22 March 2021, this programme builds on the vision set out in the Department’s Clean Maritime Plan and underlines our commitment to addressing emissions from this sector. Further plans for the decarbonisation of the maritime sector will be set out in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will be published this spring.
The UK Infrastructure Bank’s core objectives are to help tackle climate change, particularly meeting our net zero emissions target by 2050, and to support regional and local economic growth through better connectedness, opportunities for new jobs and higher levels of productivity. The Bank will be operationally independent and will invest to meet these objectives.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 12 March (HL Deb, col 1977), what steps they are taking to contribute to decarbonisation of the maritime sector.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
For a greener maritime sector, Government is investing £20 million into a Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, to support the UK design and development of clean maritime technologies. This programme builds on the vision set out in the Department’s Clean Maritime Plan and underlines our commitment to addressing emissions from this sector.
Further plans for the decarbonisation of the maritime sector will be set out in the forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 23 February (HL13331), whether there are any high frequency coast stations in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency operates Very High Frequency (VHF) and Medium Frequency (MF) coast stations, in line with our declared commitments for the provision of maritime safety and search and rescue services in the United Kingdom’s Search & Rescue Region.
There are no declared High Frequency (HF) coast stations in the UK, other than access to specific HF frequencies via the Ministry of Defence network for aeronautical rescue.