Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what regulatory approach the Maritime and Coastguard Agency takes to offshore support vessels contracted to service (a) oil and gas or (b) renewable energy installations located outside UK territorial waters.

In regard to both oil and gas and renewable energy instillations, Offshore Support Vessels require certification in accordance with the applicable conventions subject to the gross tonnage (GT) and/or length, number of passengers carried on board, flag state legislation and the national legislation of the waters where the vessel is operating. Emergency Response Rescue Vessel (ERRV) certification is an option that is available to UK operators, however, there is no statutory requirement to hold this certificate as this is a UK oil and gas initiative.

Offshore Support Vessels that carry more than 12 passengers are required to be certificated as passenger vessels. Alternative provisions are allowed where passengers are deemed special personnel and as such, the vessel may be certificated as a Special Purpose Ship (SPS) where compliant with this Code.

Offshore Support Vessels that carry less than 12 passengers that are less than 24m in length may be certificated as a Workboat to the appropriate category of operation.

The above regulations are extant for both UK and non-UK vessels, regardless of area of operation.

The sector of work for offshore supply vessels does not change the certification of them. Offshore Support Vessels are certificated with the applicable Conventions subject to the GT and/or length, number of passengers or UK/national legislation, where they are outside of the applicable limits of the appropriate convention. Where a vessel carries Industrial Personnel (IP), outside of the limits of a High Speed Offshore Service Craft Code (HSOSC) certificate, the vessels fall into the same category of SPS for UK vessels (as per above) or if non-UK, an IP Safety Certificate may be provided as per Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) XV. High Speed vessels operated by UK operators have the option of certification to the HSOSC Code.