Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government to ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the grounding of trawler Northguider between Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet; and what lessons they have drawn for (1) the safety of large passenger cruise ships operating in areas of poor communications and sub-zero temperatures, and (2) the rescuing of people in such conditions.

The search and rescue and salvage response to the grounding of the Norwegian registered fishing vessel, Northguider, was coordinated by the Norwegian authorities; the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency was not involved in the response.

The grounding occurred on 28 December 2018, and the Norwegian authorities have not provided information from any investigation of the incident. As such it would be premature to attempt to draw any conclusions on potential lessons to be learned.