Merchant Shipping and Other Transport (Environmental Protection) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

Considered in Grand Committee

Moved by

That the Grand Committee do consider the Merchant Shipping and Other Transport (Environmental Protection) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.

My Lords, as well as speaking to these regulations, if it is convenient I will speak also to the draft Ship Recycling (Facilities and Requirements for Hazardous Materials on Ships) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The regulations are made, for the most part, under the EU withdrawal Act. The Act retains EU-derived legislation in UK law. It also makes provision in Section 8 to correct deficiencies in such EU-derived legislation that arise from the UK leaving the EU.

There are some changes made under Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act. These update references to an EU directive on sulphur emissions from ships and correct an out-of-date reference to the EEA agreement in the Transport and Works Act 1992.

Turning to the regulations themselves, both make changes to ensure that legislation on environmental pollution continues to work after we leave the European Union. The environmental protection regulation makes changes in three areas of legislation on transport and the environment—specifically to legislation on air pollution controlling sulphur dioxide emissions from ships; legislation on substances used to prevent the fouling of ships’ hulls, and transport and works legislation in relation to environmental impact assessment.

The amendments in these regulations are technical. There are no policy changes, and there is no reduction in the environmental standards or, indeed, the obligations to which the UK is currently subject. The regulations will change references to “Member State” and “the Commission” to “Secretary of State” or “the United Kingdom” where appropriate. The regulations change definitions and other wording to reflect the UK’s position outside the EU.

I turn to the control of sulphur emissions from ships. Noble Lords will be aware of the importance of action on air pollution. The UK supports the IMO’s new global limit for sulphur emissions from ships, which comes into force on 1 January 2020. The UK has recently published a clean air strategy, which aims to cut pollutant emissions in half by 2030 and my department has also established the Clean Maritime Council, where key stakeholders are encouraging the development of green technology. We are planning to publish a clean maritime plan this spring, which aims to reduce both pollutant and greenhouse gases from shipping.

These regulations make changes to The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 and Commission Implementing Decision 2015/253. The changes are made only to ensure that the legislation remains operable, and the regulations will ensure that the UK continues to recognise methods of abating emissions of airborne pollutants that are approved by EU member states. They also ensure that recreational and pleasure craft will continue to benefit from certain exemptions in respect of diesel engines.

The regulations remove a requirement to report to the European Commission, which would be redundant as it only applies to EU member states. Instead, there is a new requirement on the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on compliance with sulphur standards for marine fuels. We have removed references to SafeSeaNet, a database operated by the European Maritime Safety Agency. However, even in a no-deal situation, the UK will continue to provide and receive information on ships that are not complying with IMO air pollution rules. We will receive that information through our participation in the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control.

The second area of legislation which these regulations change is in relation to the ban on the use of certain harmful chemical compounds—known as organotins—from use in ships’ anti-fouling systems. Anti-fouling paints and coatings, which inhibit the attachment of unwanted organisms to ships’ hulls, improve the fuel efficiency of ships, but the organotin compounds in some anti-fouling products have been shown to be very damaging to marine life. They have been banned under international and EU legislation.

The regulations before the Committee make changes to three pieces of legislation on anti-fouling substances: The Merchant Shipping (Anti-Fouling Systems) Regulations 2009—SI 2009/2796; EC Regulation 782/2003 on the prohibition of organotin compounds on ships; and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 536/2008. As well as correcting deficiencies such as references to member states, the regulations transfer Commission powers to amend references to international law on governing the use of anti-fouling systems to the Secretary of State.

Finally, the regulations also introduce technical changes to the environmental impact assessment provisions of the Transport and Works Act and procedural rules. They will allow the UK to continue to take a co-ordinated and streamlined approach to producing an environmental impact assessment. For example, they will, as now, avoid the need for certain information to be collected twice. The Welsh Government have been consulted on the changes to these provisions and given their approval for these regulations to be laid. These changes update references to an EU directive on sulphur emissions from ships and correct an out-of-date reference to the EEA agreement in the Transport and Works Act 1992.

I turn now to the ship recycling regulations. Ensuring the safe and environmentally sound dismantling and recycling of ships at the end of their operational life has been a concern for a number of years. Many ships are currently dismantled on beaches in Asia, with little regard for human safety or protection for the environment.

EU Regulation 1257/2013 transposed key parts of the Hong Kong convention on recycling of ships into EU law. The main provisions of the regulations have applied from 31 December 2018—so only very recently—and include requiring EU-flagged ships to be recycled at an approved ship recycling facility, and new EU-flagged ships to carry a valid inventory of hazardous materials. The provisions apply to ship recycling facilities in the EU, and to EU-flagged ships above 500 gross tonnes.

These regulations will ensure that the legal framework for ship recycling remains legally operable when the UK leaves the EU. They will do this by making amendments to EU Regulation 1257/2013 on ship recycling, and to three Commission implementing decisions. The regulations also amend SI 2015/430, the 2015 UK ship recycling regulations. Finally, they amend Northern Ireland legislation on ship recycling facilities and waste management licensing. The draft regulations address a number of deficiencies arising from EU exit which would hinder the operation of the UK ship recycling regime.

The current EU regulation establishes a “European list” of approved recycling facilities which all EU-flagged ships, including UK ships, must use when they need to be dismantled and recycled. When we are no longer in the EU, without a deal we will have no influence on who is included and removed from the European list. This instrument will require UK-flagged ships to use an approved ship recycling facility on a new “United Kingdom list”. This list will replace the European list for UK-flagged ships, and the Secretary of State will have the power to add facilities to or remove them from the list in the future. The UK list will include all recycling facilities that are on the European list when we leave the EU.

The regulations will set up a new procedure for ship recycling facilities to apply for inclusion on the UK list. They will also allow the Secretary of State to change legislation in line with international requirements—for instance, when the Hong Kong convention on ship recycling comes into force.

On the inventory of hazardous materials, ships typically contain quantities of hazardous materials, and the EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires new ships to carry a list of those hazardous materials from the beginning of this year. Existing ships also need to carry a list from 31 December 2020. However, the EU withdrawal Act retains in UK law only EU measures that are in force on the day we leave the EU. This means that the requirement in the EU regulation for existing ships—that is, from 31 December 2020—to carry a valid inventory will not be retained after we leave the EU.

The Government will look to implement this requirement at the earliest opportunity. As my officials confirmed to the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, ships will still need an inventory before they can obtain a “ready for recycling” certificate, which is required when a ship is sent for recycling. Furthermore, ships calling at EU ports will continue to need to carry an inventory after the measure comes into force in the rest of the EU in 2020.

As with other exit legislation, the regulations will change references to “Member State” and “the Commission” to “Secretary of State” or “the United Kingdom” where appropriate. The regulations change definitions and other wording to reflect the UK’s position outside the EU and the EEA, and the requirement to make reports to the Commission is removed. The regulations will allow the Secretary of State to amend various documents, including those required when a facility outside the UK applies for inclusion on the UK list.

This instrument applies to waste management, which is a transferred matter for Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Although the Government are committed to restoring devolution in Northern Ireland, in consultation with Northern Ireland departments the Government have included provisions in these regulations in relation to waste management legislation that applies in Northern Ireland.

These provisions relate to land-based waste permits for ship recycling facilities, and they update the legislative references from “the European List” to “the United Kingdom List”. This is required to maintain UK-wide consistency, enabling the inclusion of Northern Ireland in the post-Brexit UK list regime.