Draft Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025
(2 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Kane)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. The purpose of the order, laid before this House on 1 July, is to ensure that the full range of maritime legal powers currently available in relation to ships is also available to make regulations for hovercraft operating in the United Kingdom.
We can be proud of the industry as the only commercial hovercraft application, we think, in the world—my officials searched in vain for anywhere else that had one. We manufacture hovercraft for a range of purposes in the UK, and they are one of our great exports, so I am delighted to speak about them in this Committee. Christopher Cockerell, in the 1950s, came up with the modern-day design of the hovercraft, which crossed the Dover strait in 1959, although Emanuel Swedenborg actually came up with the concept in 1716, before it could be developed properly.
The UK has one commercial hovercraft operation, comprising two hovercraft that operate in inshore waters between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. The hovercraft are regulated as high-speed craft and comply fully with existing legislation. The principal legislation governing hovercraft is the Hovercraft Act 1968, which provides for Orders in Council to be made to bring hovercraft within the scope of any relevant ship requirements under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, because hovercraft operate at sea in the same way as ships.
The powers in the 1968 Act were used to make the Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) Order 1989, which is the basis on which current relevant ship requirements are applied to hovercraft. The new order, if approved, will amend the 1989 order to make it possible to apply future relevant legislation made under the 1995 Act to hovercraft as it applies to ships. It is our intention to make this order now because, for the purpose of extending the current merchant shipping fees regulations in November 2025, it is necessary to ensure that, in relation to all possible future hovercraft operations, the Department will be able to charge fees for regulating hovercraft in the same way that it charges for regulating other types of ships and vessels.
This order will contain powers to ensure, through the use of provision for ambulatory reference, that legislation for hovercraft can keep pace with changes in shipping legislation where necessary. The order will cover provision relating to safety requirements, pollution prevention measures and inquiries and investigations into ship casualties, ensuring that hovercraft remain subject to the same modern regulatory standards as ships where necessary. Doing so supports consistency, safety, the protection of the maritime environment and growth across maritime operations.
The order updates and refreshes some provision in the existing 1989 order to bring it up to modern drafting standards. The order also makes specific provision in respect of the ambulatory reference powers in the 1995 Act, which will mean that provision in regulations for ambulatory reference to ship requirements, where those ship requirements are applied to hovercraft by this order, will also cover those requirements as they apply to hovercraft in the same way that they apply to ships. That will ensure that the relevant legislation for hovercraft keeps pace with international standards in the same way as ships, ensuring a level playing field for UK industry and international competitors.
I have highlighted the importance of this Order in Council for ensuring that hovercraft operating in the UK are subject to the same regulatory regime as ships, and that the Department has appropriate powers to ensure compliance with relevant safety and pollution prevention standards. I therefore commend this statutory instrument to the Committee.
Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. I rise to speak to the statutory instrument before us, which concerns hovercraft and the invaluable role they play in supporting the local economy, particularly on the Isle of Wight, and our wider transport network. We welcome the Government’s step to modernise outdated references and ensure that hovercraft fall under the same rules as other vessels on safety, accident investigations and pollution prevention. Simplifying the legislative structure under which hovercraft operate seems to be the right way to go.
The Opposition have no objection to these measures in principle, but we have some small questions for the Minister. As he said, the UK hovercraft sector is small, with a single significant operator. It is therefore vital that this order does not create hidden costs for operators or passengers. I would be grateful if he confirmed that this is a purely administrative simplification and that there are no plans for fee increases or additional burdens that could risk the future of this unique and iconic part of our transport system. There are already concerns about the cost of crossing the Solent, particularly from residents of the Isle of Wight, who rightly and understandably wish to be sure that this change is purely administrative.
I hope that the Government have gone about consultation with industry in the proper manner and engaged with Hovertravel—I am sure they have. I also hope that a genuine assessment has been made of any potential disproportionate impact that this instrument may have on this small but vital sector. Can the Minister confirm that that consultation has taken place?
Finally, while the introduction of the ambulatory references may streamline regulation, the automatic application of future treaty changes always poses potential risks. As the Minister said, international maritime treaties are generally drafted with conventional ships in mind. Our hovercraft sector is somewhat unique, and requirements designed for vessels of that scale may not always be suitable for hovercraft operations. I would therefore be grateful if the Government set out what assessments have been made to ensure that this approach will remain appropriate, and what safeguards exist if future international standards prove ill-suited to the unique character of our hovercraft sector. I have no doubt that the Minister will be able to provide ample answers to clarify those points and prevent us from having to divide on these measures.
Mike Kane
I thank the Opposition for their support for this statutory instrument and welcome the right hon. Member to his elevated place. This is like the ghost of Christmas past, as we shadowed one another in opposition not so long ago, and I wish him well in his new position. He asked me a number of questions. Yes, the sector is unique—that is a good point. It operates only in the Isle of Wight. I have an ongoing relationship with Hovertravel as we try to solve some of the long-standing issues around transport to the Isle of Wight. My officials have worked closely on standards with Hovertravel at least since I have been in post, along with Wightlink Isle of Wight ferries. There is a good working relationship there.
This order is an administrative change, and engagement is not necessary yet. The engagement will take place when changes happen around the regulatory fees or marine pollution. That is what the order allows us to do.
The right hon. Gentleman asks about costs. As this is a technical instrument, it does not contain regulatory requirements, and does not impose any immediate costs on businesses, charities, voluntary organisations or the public sector. I reiterate that we are unique in having the only commercial service on the planet—or so we think; if anybody knows of anywhere else, please let me know. We manufacture and produce hovercraft. We sell them across the world to maritime and coastguard authorities and for defence applications. More power to our elbow as a nation; may we carry on doing that.
I hope that I have fully answered the right hon. Gentleman’s questions. As I said, the order makes provisions to ensure that hovercraft will remain subject to the same regulatory standards as ships; that is what we are after. It is necessary to support consistency, safety and growth across the maritime sector, as well as to ensure relevant powers to change fees. Regulatory oversight of hovercraft as well as ships is desirable. I therefore commend the order to the House.
Question put and agreed to.