Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish a post with executive authority over the maritime craft of those departments with an interest in coastal littoral activity; and if so, whether that post would lead on procurement of a common fleet of maritime craft in the future.

The Joint Maritime Operations Coordination Centre (JMOCC), established very recently, in October 2017, optimises and coordinates the deployment of UK maritime assets across government agencies, including the seagoing craft owned by Border Force, the Royal Navy, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Association of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities. This is achieved by maintaining a detailed picture of those assets in terms of type, location and availability along with a comprehensive overview of the threats likely to occur in UK waters and access to near real-time monitoring systems. The methodology has already led to successful inventions in respect of incidents ranging from criminality to safety.

Additionally, the Joint Governance Board for the JMOCC and the National Maritime Information Centre supports stakeholders’ decision-making processes in relation to the deployment of resources; as such there are currently no plans to procure a ‘common fleet of maritime craft’.