Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 15 January (HL11793), what assessment they have made of the resilience of UK merchant ships’ ability to receive position, navigation and timing data in the event of a failure of satellite provision.

Merchant ships’ navigation officers, under part of their certificates of competency, are provided adequate practical training both ashore and on board to detect and respond to failures of satellite-based position, navigation and timing provisions.

They are, therefore, equipped to employ alternate methods and equipment, such as visual and radar lines of positions, and celestial navigation techniques for the coastal and oceanic phases of ships’ voyages respectively.