Proposal for a Directive on Recreational Craft and Personal Watercraft: consultation

The consultation sought views on the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Recreational Craft and Personal Watercraft.

The sector covers a wide range of watercraft including yachts, narrow boats and luxury motor cruisers. It is a lively and dynamic sector in the UK with a large number of SMEs. The government broadly supports revision of the Directive as we believe that the proposal contains a number of improvements on the current directive. The reduction in exhaust emissions is welcomed as this will bring it into line with practice in the United States. Although this may result in increased cost to business, there will also be benefits to engine manufacturers trading in the global market in terms of exports that this should bring. However, there are a number of areas where the government has identified potential difficulties with the proposal.