Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) ferry operators on the crewing model that will be used on the vessels used to provide Roll-on Roll-off passenger and freight ferry services between Scotland and continental Europe; and whether conditions of maritime employment on those services will be covered by the Mandatory Seafarers Charter.

Maritime policy is devolved to Scotland and so it is for the Scottish Government to engage with ferry operators about any services from Scottish ports to mainland Europe. My officials regularly engage with the Scottish Government about maritime matters but Scotland have not raised any specific issues about crewing on services from Scotland to mainland Europe.

We will be consulting on the regulations bringing into force the Mandatory Seafarers’ Charter in Spring 2026. This consultation will set out the proposed scope of the requirements.