Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance the Maritime and Coastguard Agency provides on the decommissioning of (a) semi-submersible drilling rigs and (b) other commercial vessels deployed in the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Decommissioning and disposal of semi-submersible drilling rigs and commercial vessels currently falls under the scope of legislation and guidance administered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Government will be implementing Merchant Shipping legislation to introduce specific Ship Recycling Regulations later this year with the regime entering into force in December 2018. A Maritime and Coastguard Agency guidance package will accompany this legislation.