Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s policies on the operational limits of Search and Rescue winching systems on helicopters contracted to conduct offshore Search and Rescue operations.

The winching systems on search and rescue (SAR) helicopters have a limit on their load capacity which has been further reduced by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) imposed limit for the carriage of ‘human external cargo’. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) do not have additional operational limits on these winching systems and the rescue coordination centre will follow operational procedures for any SAR response.

The total number of individuals winched from offshore energy installations by HM Coastguard SAR aircraft since 2021 is 57. This includes 55 from oil and gas and two related to offshore wind. The oil and gas figure of 55 includes 29 evacuated from a semi-submersible.

From January 2021 to June 2026, SAR helicopters rescued 927 people from commercial vessels. The role of the person rescued is not routinely recorded.