Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what regulatory oversight the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has of recognised organisations authorised to conduct vessel inspection and survey work on its behalf.

The UK, under International Conventions including the IMO Code of Recognized Organizations (Res. MSC.349(92)) and the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (Res. A.1070(28)) and as a Member State under European Directive 2009/15/EC is required to satisfy itself that any survey work completed by the six Recognised Organisations (ROs) acting on its behalf is effectively monitored.

Written survey agreements are in place between each individual RO and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) which govern the level of delegation of statutory functions and certification services for vessels registered in the UK.

To provide assurance that survey and certification work delegated to ROs was carried out to agreed standards, the MCA undertakes a comprehensive risk based programme of monitoring and assurance visits and audits.