Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what parts of the Government’s plan for getting an exemption from maritime security notifications in the event of a no deal Brexit have been implemented.

Earlier this year my officials progressed a Statutory Instrument through Parliament which ensures that the UK’s existing regulatory regime for ship and port security will continue to function effectively after EU Exit.

The Statutory Instrument will enter into force on the day on which the UK leaves the EU. This Statutory Instrument includes provisions which enable the Government to continue to issue pre-arrival notification (PAN) exemptions to operators of vessels travelling on scheduled services from the EU into the UK after our withdrawal from the EU, even in a no deal scenario.

Vessels travelling from the UK into the EU following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will need to provide the necessary pre-arrival security information for scheduled routes. Government has communicated widely with operators and has provided advice to them about the change. This was done in the form of a technical notice which can be found here;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/getting-an-exemption-from-maritime-security-notifications-if-theres-no-brexit-deal/getting-an-exemption-from-maritime-security-notifications-if-theres-no-brexit-deal.