Published on: 06 October 2022
Supporting new legislation for small workboats and industry’s chance to input into the code and new Statutory Instrument
The MCA along with stakeholder partners including British Marine and the Certifying Authorities (CAs) have held working groups throughout the year updating and rewriting the Workboat Code and producing edition 3 of the code. This version of the code is supporting a new Statutory Instrument (SI) – The Merchant Shipping (Small Workboats and Pilot Boats) Regulations 2023. This new SI and accompanying Code of Practice applies to workboats, including remotely operated unmanned vessels operating as workboats, and pilot boats, which are less than 24m load line length.
The new SI and supporting code of practice has now been made public and the MCA has opened a consultation seeking industry’s views on the proposed SI and the supporting new Workboat Code edition 3.
Unlike the previous editions of the workboat codes, this version is supporting a new SI (The Merchant Shipping (Small Workboats and Pilot Boats) Regulations 2023) which will revoke and replace the Merchant Shipping (Small Workboats and Pilot Boats) Regulations 1998.
This new instrument updates the provisions previously made in the 1998 Regulations so that they set out in greater detail the application and certification process for vessels, the requirements on owners and masters to report incidents, the processes to be followed where a vessel is deficient or detained and the penalties that can arise if the Regulations are breached. The instrument also sets out the process that applies if a surveyor determines that a vessel is deficient to the extent that it does not correspond with the particulars under which it was certified or if it poses a danger to the vessels or a person on board. In addition, the instrument provides for disputes in relation to survey outcomes to be settled by arbitration.
The instrument also makes consequential amendments to other instruments which are needed to enable the provisions to apply to remotely operated unmanned vessels used as workboats.
British Marine would like to draw our members attention to the fact that the new Workboat code also contains two important new annexes:
Annex 1 – Battery-Hybrid and Battery-Electric Vessels
Annex 2 – Remotely Operated Unmanned Vessels
As well as the two annexes above, another major change is the fact that the Safety Management Systems will now be mandatory not just recommended.
The MCA is requesting industry reviews the consultation document, draft Regulations and draft Workboat Code Edition 3, which are available on the GOV.UK website, and provide your views on the specific questions set out in Section 5.1 of the Consultation Document by 11:45pm on Thursday 29 December 2022. Please send your responses and any additional comments to codes@mcga.gov.uk
British Marine will also be setting up working groups to produce a consultation response on behalf of industry, if you would like to be part of the working groups or would like to input into the British Marine Consultation response please contact the Technical team via etuite@britishmarine.co.uk.
