Draft Marine Navigation Bill

On 6 May 2008, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Jim Fitzpatrick, published a draft Marine Navigation Bill, for public consultation and Parliamentary pre-legislative scrutiny.

The draft Bill sets out legislative proposals to:

• allow the ratification of the IMO Convention in the UK so that the Government can compel ship owners to remove wrecks or, if emergency works are carried out by the Government or General Lighthouse Authorities, facilitate recovery of their costs from the ship owner or its insurers;
• enable the Secretary of State to direct a harbour authority which is exercising its functions unsafely;
• give all harbour authorities access to a power to give general directions to shipping;
• allow a Competent Harbour Authority to relinquish its unwanted pilotage powers;
• provide a simple way for the duties of a harbour authority to be extinguished where it no longer serves a useful purpose and to ensure any residual duties are carried out appropriately;
• permit the introduction of compulsory National Occupational Standards for harbourmasters and pilots;
• improve the regulation of pilotage exemption certificates; and
• modernise some of the powers of the General Lighthouse Authorities.

The consultation period extends to 25 July 2008. The consultation document may be downloaded here.