Lorraine Weller
Bay 2/01
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)23 8032 9503
Fax: +44 (0)23 8032 9204
E-mail: environment@mcga.gov.uk
11 September 2008
Dear Consultee
CONSULTATION ON THE DRAFT MERCHANT SHIPPING (ANTI-FOULING SYSTEMS) REGULATIONS 2008
1. As part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) consultation procedure, I am attaching a copy of the above draft Regulations and associated documentation for your comment.
2. On the 5 October 2001 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships. This Convention included a control measure that ships must not apply or re-apply organotin compounds which act as biocides in anti-fouling systems from 1 January 2003. By 1 January 2008 all ships must either not have organotin systems on their hulls or external parts, or have a sealer coat to prevent it leaching out.
3. As the International Convention was not in force by 1 January 2003 due to the required number of maritime countries not having signed up to the Convention, the European Union adopted a Regulation, (EC) No 782/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council of 14 April 2003 on the prohibition of organotin compounds on ships. This was to ensure that the main provisions of the IMO Convention would apply to all EU States with effect from 3 months after entry into force of the EC Regulation. As the EC legislation was in the form of a Regulation it took direct effect in the UK. However, to ensure that the EC Regulation would work properly in the UK, these draft Regulations have been produced which include provision for the creation of criminal offences and penalties, and for existing UK legislation to apply with modifications (e.g. provisions relating to inspection and detention of ships).
4. As the EC legislation is a Regulation rather than a Directive, it is already in force in the Community. The preparation of the draft Regulations in the UK to provide for relevant enforcement measures and sanctions has been delayed by the need to resolve a few important differences between the EC Regulation and the Convention (e.g. the difference of coming into force dates, waste controls, etc). However, once the draft Regulations are in place, these together with the EC Regulation will put the UK in a position to be able to accede to the Convention.
5. During the period of time that the MCA has been working on producing these draft Regulations the IMO Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships was ratified on the 17 September 2007. Hence, the coming into force date of the Convention for international compliance is the 17 September 2008, the dates mentioned in paragraph 2 will now move to this date.
6. The UK is now in a position to consult on the draft regulations and related documentation:
Annex A - Copy of the draft Anti-Fouling Systems Regulations;
Annex B - Draft of the Marine Guidance Note (MGN); this includes a copy of the EC Regulation;
Annex C - Impact Assessment - consultation stage;
Annex D - List of all consultees;
Annex E - Consultation customer feedback form.
Draft Impact Assessment
7. Would you please consider carefully the content and costing in the Impact Assessment and comment appropriately? Also please advise us of any other costs you consider which may have an impact which may have overlooked. Additionally, could you consider any administrative function which will be required by these draft Regulations and provide estimated costing for each.
Draft Marine Guidance Note
8. A draft guidance document has been produced providing additional information on the measures proposed and guidance on the UK interpretations. Please let us have any general comments on the scope and content of the note or any specific areas you feel would benefit from more detail.
Consultation
9. I enclose a list of the consultees to whom the consultation package is being sent and, to assist full consultation, this package and the outcome of this consultation will be accessible on the MCA web-site at www.mcga.gov.uk in the Guidance and Regulations section.
Specific Questions
10. In responding to the consultation it may be useful to consider in particular the following questions which have been raised during the development of the draft Regulations and consultation package:
10.1. Do you believe the proposed legislation and offences are proportional to the threat to the marine environment?
10.2. How many vessels do you operate and how many of those have still to comply with the EC Regulation and how many still require a certificate or a declaration?
10.3. Is it beneficial for the MGN to Annex the EC Regulation?
10.4. Is the MCA’s assessment of the regulations impact upon a) small firms and b) competition realistic? (See 7 and 8 of IA)?
10.5. Are there costing figures available to show the cost impact of TBT on the fishing and shell fisheries?
10.6. Has the MCA consulted with the correct stakeholders? Can you suggest any interested parties that the MCA has not consulted with?
Freedom of Information Act
11. Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily The Freedom Of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004).
12. If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the FOIA, there is a statutory code of practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the MCA.
13. The MCA will process your personal data in accordance with the DPA, and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.
Consultation Criteria
14. This consultation has been conducted in accordance with the six consultation criteria from the Government Code of Practice:
15. If you have any comments regarding the conduct of this consultation or feel that it does not comply with the Government Code of Practice please contact the Consultation Co-ordinator at consultation.coordinator@mcga.gov.uk. We are continually trying to improve the way in which we conduct consultations and appreciate your views, so we would also be grateful if you could complete and return the attached feedback questionnaire. These should be submitted to the Consultation Co-ordinator and are not affected by the deadline for this consultation.
16. I would be grateful if you would consider the above documents and questions and provide any comments in writing by 15th December 2008.
Please address all comments to:
Lorraine Weller
Bay 2/01
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton SO15 1EG
Lorraine.Weller@mcga.gov.uk
Merchant Shipping (Anti-Fouling Systems) Regulations - WRITTEN RESPONSES