Maritime strategy

In this report we look at the Government’s recently published strategy for shipping, which has three broad goals:

• to promote the UK as a globally competitive location for shipping which encourages maritime trade; • to build a maritime skills base that supports a vibrant UK maritime sector; and • to ensure that UK shipping is safe, secure and environmentally responsible Our view is that the strategy could provide a sensible framework for Government policy on maritime issues into the next Parliament, but we are not persuaded that the Government can give convincing answers to the strategic questions faced today by the shipping industry. More detailed work is required to ensure that the strategy has long-term significance.

The size of the UK-flagged fleet is directly related to the strength of the broader maritime sector. The fleet grew significantly after 1999 until the recent recession. We recommend that the Government set out what policy measures it will use to ensure that the UK-flagged fleet begins again to grow in size and explain how it will “promote the UK as a global shipping base and centre for maritime services” available to vessels of all nationalities.

The UK supports a number of competing registries of crown dependencies and UK overseas territories in the Red Ensign Group. It is not clear that the benefits to the UK from overseeing the Red Ensign Group outweigh the costs of doing so. We recommend that the Government review the support it provides to the Red Ensign Group, with a view to raising the standards of the vessels which fly under the flag. We also call on the Government to review whether the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) could provide registry support to other flags, as another way of ensuring that the UK provides a global lead in high-quality shipping standards.

In 2011 it was predicted that, within a decade, the UK would have 5,000 fewer deck and engineering officers than the maritime sector would require. If this prediction is borne out, either foreign officers will be recruited to fill the gaps or maritime jobs and businesses will move overseas. We recommend that the Government make an explicit commitment to address fully the predicted shortfall in trained seafarers by 2021. This should involve the Tonnage Tax, SMaRT funding and apprenticeships. We make detailed recommendations about each and about record-keeping.

The MCA is taking on significant new responsibilities in relation to new international environmental and labour agreements at the same time as its budget is being squeezed and while it is carrying a sizeable number of vacancies in key posts. There is as yet no evidence that these factors are undermining the UK’s ability to enforce compliance with international shipping regulations. However, there is a risk that the MCA will increasingly struggle to discharge its regulatory responsibilities, undermining the UK’s status as an influential member of the International Maritime Organization and high-quality flag 4 nation. We recommend that the Government institute an independent review of how the MCA will successfully take on new responsibilities without a proportionate increase in its resources and publish the results of the review in time to inform the next spending review.

We are concerned that senior maritime professionals have suggested that budget cuts are undermining the work of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch. We look to the MAIB’s chief inspector to inform us if budgetary constraints prevent him from adequately discharging his duties.

The MAIB has identified a risk that the crew of wind farm passenger transfer vessels may not always be sufficiently qualified for the work they undertake. This is a significant safety risk to the staff servicing offshore wind farms. We recommend that the Government work with the relevant industry groups to increase the minimum qualifications for the crew of wind farm passenger transfer vessels so that they better reflect the seamanship required for this work. The aim should be to introduce new minimum qualifications by 2016, with voluntary compliance with higher standards before then.