Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Marine and Coastguard Agency’s Consultation on the Proposed Revised Technical Requirements and Associated Impact Assessment Resulting from the Review of Standards for Older UK Passenger Ships, published on 6 November 2018, whether vessels brought into service before 1 January will be granted grandfather rights to be exempt from new regulations; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such vessels being exempt on their ability to continue in business.

A vessel being brought into service as a passenger ship would be subject to different requirements depending on their area of operation, the construction material and whether it has previously held a UK passenger vessel certificate. For the majority of such vessels, the standards applied are not those which are under review. A limited number of vessels could be brought into service under these older Regulations.

Any vessels subject to the standards that will be modified by the review will have a two-year phase in period for compliance from the in-force date of the new legislation. This applies equally well to existing vessels or those which are yet to be brought into service.