Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will suspend the procurement exercise for the recovery of the FV Louisa pending investigation of the tendering process for that recovery.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The fishing vessel Louisa sank off the Scottish coast on 9 April 2016. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is seeking to raise the vessel as part of its investigation to establish the causes and circumstances of the accident.
The Department’s procurement experts have independently reviewed the processes undertaken by the MAIB in awarding the contract to recover the Louisa. It is clear from that review that the MAIB’s evaluation team followed the process as set out in the tender document and in a fair and transparent manner. I am therefore satisfied that there are no grounds for the procurement process to be suspended.
This sinking resulted in the deaths of three fishermen and the vessel should be recovered as soon as possible to give the investigation team the strongest possibility of understanding the reasons why this tragic accident occurred.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent have been refused by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since 2010.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has not refused any applications for consent to date in relation to Oil Transfer Licences, and has refused 16 applications for consent, since 2010, in relation to Ship-to-Ship Transfers in the Southwold area.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent have been determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency since 2010.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has given consent for five Oil Transfer Licences since 2010 and all remain extant.
The MCA has made determination on 800 formal applications for Ship-to-Ship Transfers in the Southwold area since 1 January 2010. Of these, the MCA gave consent on 686 occasions, some of which were caveated; the MCA has refused 16 and the applicant or their clients have cancelled 98.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have required appropriate assessment of their effect on European wildlife sites since 2010.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Since 2010, when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has determined applications for consent, three Oil Transfer Licence applications have required appropriate assessments to be undertaken in relation to European Sites.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have required environmental impact assessment since 2010.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Since 2010, when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has determined applications for consent, three Oil Transfer Licence applications have required environmental impact assessments.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for which activities consent is determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The activities for which the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has the delegated authority to consent/refuse are for Oil Transfer Licences within UK ports and harbours and for Ship-to-Ship Transfers within the designated Southwold area off the Suffolk coast.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the effect of a written objection being made by a consultation body specified in Regulation 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010 (as amended) for the determination of an application for an oil transfer licence.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is the Competent Authority that assesses applications for an Oil Transfer License (OTL). All written representations made during a public consultation are considered with the application and used to inform the analysis and the decision
The MCA will approve or deny the application, direct the applicant to do additional work to address concerns and/or seek additional stakeholder consultation and engagement where appropriate.
In accordance with the ‘Merchant Shipping (Ship to Ship Transfers) Regulation 2010 (as amended), the MCA will inform the applicant in writing of the decision, with any associated caveats to the License, if granted. Officials will also write to all individuals or consultation bodies who responded to the public consultation informing them of the decision and the justification for it.
Representations and decision correspondence are retained by the MCA and kept on file for a minimum of 20 years. Records of any other stakeholder engagement undertaken during an OTL consultation or subsequent to it are retained by the MCA for a minimum of five years.