Toby Stone
Head of Counter Pollution
Bay 1/09 Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EG
Tel 02380 329 525
Fax 02380 329 485
15th May 2008
Dear Sir / Madam
Consultation on draft Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfer) Regulations 2008
I am writing to invite your comments on the draft Regulations to control Ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of substances of a hazardous nature (including oil) in UK waters. The draft Regulations prohibit both the transfer of cargo and bunkering fuel between ships within the outer limit of the UK's territorial sea.
Furthermore, a proposed programme of cargo transfers between ships within a harbour authority area would be subject to additional requirements for assessment of environmental impact before it was allowed to proceed.
You are invited to comment on the draft legislation and associated documentation enclosed, namely:
Summary of Provisions
The draft Regulations prohibit STS operations (cargo transfers and bunkering operations) in UK waters except where they are carried out in statutory harbour areas.
There is already a requirement under the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention (OPRC)) Regulations 1998 for oil spill response plans to be in place in statutory harobour authority areas. This means that operators must have in place the necessary resources to respond to a pollution incident arising from their operations (although it should be noted that voluntary shipping industry guidelines for contingency are currently utilised and have a good safety record). As a general rule we consider that it is only appropriate for STS transfers to take place where these approved plans are in place.
The draft Regulations also require the harbour authority to provide specific information about the transfer operation to the Secretary of State, who will make an assessment the environmental impact. The process for carrying out the environmental assessment is prescribed in Schedule 2. Harbour authorities' responsibilities under the European Communities Habitats Directive are prescribed in Schedule 1
For those locations where existing STS operations are carried out there will be a requirement to carry out an assessment of the environmental impact although time will be given to carry out the consent process.
Specific Questions on the Policy Proposals
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 consultation package, although general comments are also welcomed.
Q1) Are the costs and benefits of the regulations anticipated by the Impact Assessment realistic / accurate (see ‘Summary: Analysis and Evidence’ and ‘Costs and Benefits of the Preferred Option’ sections)? We will be grateful for any other cost and benefit information you can supply to further develop this analysis.
Q2) Do you believe that the proposed offences in Regulation 4 of the draft Statutory Instrument are proportionate to the threat of pollution and potential harm occurring from a pollution incident associated with STS Operations?
Q3) Have we identified all of the relevant consultees (Annex D (40Kb))? Are there any other organisations that you feel we should consult with?
How to respond
The consultation period runs for 12 weeks from the date of this letter (15 May 2008). Please ensure that your response reaches the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on or before the closing date of 7 August 2008. Written comments should be sent to:
Counter Pollution Team
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
Hampshire SO15 1EG
Alternatively, if you prefer to forward your comments by e-mail, send them to:
What Will Happen Next
After the consultation period has ended time will be required for the analysis and presentation of the results. The consultation comments and MCA responses will then be published on the MCA website, in the ‘Closed Consultations’ section:
www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/shipsandcargoes/consultations/mcga-consultations-archive.htm
Freedom of Information Act
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).
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 Department.
The Department 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
This consultation has been conducted in accordance with the six consultation criteria from the Government Code of Practice:
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 (Annex E 
(42Kb)).These should be submitted to the Consultation Co-ordinator and are not affected by the deadline for this consultation.
Yours faithfully,
Toby Stone
Head of Counter Pollution Team
Directorate of Maritime Services
Annex A - Draft Statutory Instrument (77Kb)
Annex B - Draft Marine Guidance Note (80Kb)
Annex C - Draft Impact Assessment (60Kb)
Annex D - List of Consultees (33.5Kb)