Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any information on the number of UK merchant ships that docked at (1) Gazimağusa, and (2) Berbera, seaports in each year since 2010; and why their policies towards both unrecognised countries differ in terms of their international investment.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No UK flagged vessels have docked at Famagusta (Gazimagusa) since 2018. One vessel docked five times at Berbera over the same period. We do not hold data before 2018. The situations in the north of Cyprus and Somaliland are different and require different approaches. The UK supports measures to promote economic development in both, whilst respecting UN Security Council Resolutions that limit links between the UK and the north of Cyprus.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle modern slavery in the maritime industry.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While onboard for surveys and inspections, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) inspectors assess the working and living conditions for crew including, but not limited to, employment agreements, payment of wages and standards of accommodation. These inspections implement the standards of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No.188), that came into force in 2013 and 2019, respectively.
Inspectors also interview crew while they are onboard during merchant and fishing vessel inspections and surveys, offering a confidential space for concerns to be raised. If there is any evidence of modern slavery, the matter is followed up and information is also forwarded to HMRC or local police for further investigation, as needed.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2024 to Question 24277 on South China Sea: Shipping, how much funding has been provided to maritime training programmes in Southeast Asia in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Prior to November 2022, the FCDO's approach to maritime security in Southeast Asia focussed on diplomatic engagement including legal dialogues. In November 2022, the FCDO launched the Southeast Asia Maritime Security programme funded by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) and spent in total £0.17 million in financial year (FY) 2022-23. In FY 2023-24, the programme invested £0.8 million on capacity and capability building projects with regional partners to strengthen their capacity on maritime law and security. In FY 2024-25, the programme has been allocated up to £3.5 million to continue delivering similar projects through the new Integrated Security Fund (ISF).
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what threat assessment he has made of Houthi military capabilities; and whether he has plans for further strikes in Yemen.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK and our allies have responded decisively to the attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea from the Houthis’ dangerous and illegal attacks with limited, necessary and proportionate strike action on Houthi targets in self-defence. Every mission carried out by RAF aircraft is analysed carefully and informed by robust intelligence. We will not comment on operational activity.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote job creation in British ports.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department supports the entire maritime sector to help industry create jobs around British Ports, ensuring that ports can operate effectively within the right regulatory environment for growth. For example, the Department works jointly with the sector through the Maritime Skills Commission to build the right employment skills to underpin this. We are also investing directly with our match funded £206m UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme to accelerate decarbonisation, using innovation to drive economic growth and job creation.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Romania, (b) Moldova, (c) Bulgaria, (d) Ukraine and (e) Türkiye on (i) security and (ii) maritime access in the western Black Sea region.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
A secure Black Sea and freedom of navigation for commercial shipping is essential to regional stability and global food security. The UK has prioritised support for this region, which is why within the past year the Foreign Secretary and his predecessor have visited all the countries mentioned to discuss these very issues. The Minister for Europe discussed regional security at the Moldova-UK Strategic Dialogue on 30 April.
The UK is at the forefront of building Ukraine's future maritime security through our joint leadership of the Maritime Capability Coalition alongside Norway. This is significantly uplifting Ukraine's naval capacity and creating a greater balance of power in the Black Sea.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent diplomatic steps he has taken to support freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK takes no sides in the sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea but we oppose actions which raise tensions and increase the risk of miscalculation. The UK's commitment is to international law, the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to freedom of navigation and overflight. The UK has continued to condemn unsafe, escalatory and dangerous actions by Chinese vessels against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea via our Ambassador in Manila, and in an FCDO Spokesperson statement. The UK continues to support regional partners through an enhanced programme of maritime capacity building in Southeast Asia which provides training and funding to strengthen regional capacity on maritime law and security.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the (a) implications for her policies of the capacity limits of container ports around the western Mediterranean and (b) impact of those limits on (i) inventory costs and (ii) the availability of components for (A) retailers and (B) manufacturers.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Government is monitoring the disruption to shipping caused by Red Sea attacks and working with businesses to understand the current and potential future impacts on shipping.
Shipping operators are working to mitigate any potential impact on consumers, and the shipping and supply chain sectors are well practiced at putting contingencies in place to continue to meet their customer needs.
If UK businesses are facing issues as a result of actions in the Red Sea, they can access advice and report disruptions through the Export Support Service: https://www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps (1) to ensure that maritime infrastructure projects, including shoreside electrical power, can speedily connect to the National Grid, (2) to build infrastructure for shoreside electrical power at UK ports to help decarbonise shipping, and (3) to enable cruise ships to connect to shoreside electrical power when docked at UK ports to assist them in reducing emissions in port.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 22 November 2023, the Government published the Connections Action Plan (jointly with Ofgem) and the Transmissions Acceleration Plan. These reforms will speed up connections to the grid and the build of new transmission infrastructure in Great Britain. This may help unlock and speed up investment in new maritime infrastructure projects in Great Britain that are reliant on upgrades to the grid, including shore power projects.
In addition, the government announced £29.5m of R&D funding will be allocated to shore power projects at the Port of Aberdeen, Atlantic and Peninsula’s Falmouth Port and Portsmouth International Port under the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure R&D competition. As well as helping to reduce shipping emissions at these locations, including from cruise ships that call at their shore power enabled berths, these demonstration projects will also provide valuable evidence to inform future industry investment, research, and policy and regulation development.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of Iranian support for the Houthis on the stability of (a) Yemen and (b) the wider Middle East region.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK assesses that Iran has directly supported Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Specifically, Iran has provided intelligence to enable Houthi targeting of vessels. Furthermore, Iran has supplied the Houthis with missiles and UAVs used to attack international shipping. Iran should cease such support and use its influence to restrain its proxies to prevent further escalations.
The UK continues to seek the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East. We are employing the full range of our diplomatic and security efforts, working with allies and international partners to counter groups seeking to undermine the region's peace, stability and prosperity.