Clause 118
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
6:00 pm
Hugo Swire (East Devon, Conservative)
I want to return to something that we discussed earlier, which also relates to this clause—places of refuge. Designating and identifying them, as my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd, West said, is one thing, particularly if they are areas the size of Devon, but the Committee also needs to know what priorities there are within them. In the United Kingdom system, the Marine Safety Act 2003 provides powers of intervention and direction to the Secretary of State’s representative for maritime salvage and intervention, working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s counter-pollution and response branch. The SOSREP directs vessels to places of refuge when he judges it appropriate. Anywhere around the UK's coast could be a place of refuge, and we consider it unwise pre-emptively to rule anywhere in or out.
The Minister knows that EU member coastal states should be required to take measures to receive ships in distress in ports of refuge. That has been raised through the Erika II package and through the Castor and Prestige incidents, for example. How will that fit in with marine policy statements or marine conservation zones, particularly as most MCZs are likely to be designated before marine planning takes place? Will the need to find a place of refuge always overrule anything in this legislation? In other words, should it have been possible to beach the Napoli at a world heritage site or adjacent to one, or would that simply have defeated the purpose of the Bill? The marine planning system must be used to clearly identify places of refuge around our coast for ships in distress. That could help to avoid stricken ships being taken to environmentally sensitive areas.