Safety

Transport topics
- UK shipping industry
  - Our ships – your future
  - Safety

We are responsible for the safe navigation of UK territorial waters through the sponsorship of the General Lighthouse Authorities, and the positioning and apportioning of offshore renewable energy installations.

In addition, we strive to minimise the effects of shipping on our environment through the prevention and handling of marine accidents and appropriate pollution control, supported by the provision and proliferation of advice and information as appropriate.

To this end, we work closely with the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, the Maritime Coastguard Agency, Ministers, the European Union, International Maritime Organisation, Other Government Departments and the Shipping industry.

Inquiries and reports

There are two purposes of a public inquiry, namely ascertaining the facts and learning lessons for the future. In the vast majority of cases the second is a very important ingredient, especially in the sphere of transport, because it is to be hoped and indeed expected that the detailed examination of the causes of a particular casualty will yield valuable information from which lessons can be learned. The public (and especially the survivors and the relatives and friends of those who lost their lives) has a legitimate interest in learning the truth of what happened, without anything being swept under the carpet. In some cases that will necessitate a public inquiry, whereas in others it will not.