The Department for Transport openly publishes statistics on seafarers in the UK shipping industry annually which are available on the maritime and shipping statistics pages of the .gov website. The Department does not collect data on maritime apprenticeships.

The UK does not record additional information, such as occupation, on its passports and it would not be possible to estimate how many seafarers hold a UK passport.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency operates Very High Frequency (VHF) and Medium Frequency (MF) coast stations, in line with our declared commitments for the provision of maritime safety and search and rescue services in the United Kingdom’s Search & Rescue Region.

There are no declared High Frequency (HF) coast stations in the UK, other than access to specific HF frequencies via the Ministry of Defence network for aeronautical rescue.

Merchant ships’ navigation officers, under part of their certificates of competency, are provided practical training both ashore and on board to detect and adequately respond to failures of satellite-based and radio-based navigation systems. These responses already include reverting to use of navigation methods other than the satellite and radio-based navigation provisions.

In addition, merchant ships’ navigation watchkeeping procedures contain explicit instructions to routinely employ alternative navigations systems - such as radar for harbour and coastal waters, and celestial navigation for oceans – so as to not rely solely on the satellite and radio-based navigation provisions.

UK-registered ocean-going merchant ships operate under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention which contains common rules for radio equipment installations. The International Maritime Organization’s view is that it is important to maintain medium frequency (MF)/ high frequency (HF) communication systems in case of failure of satellite systems.

The UK relies on the IMO’s assessment of the availability of maritime HF communications in its ongoing review and modernisation of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). The availability of coast stations for general communications is considered adequate.

Should a coast station close, nation State search and rescue services will continue to respond to HF GMDSS Distress, Urgency and Safety radio traffic. Should the IMO consider the provision of service through HF GMDSS coast stations to be a concern and that could only be addressed at the international level, then it would take action.

The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018 implement minimum standards for hours of rest in accordance with the International Maritime Organization’s Convention on Standards for Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, 1978 as amended and the International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. As such, they provide a framework for enforcement, but they are not sufficient on their own effectively to prevent fatigue which can be affected by a number of factors, including time spent as sea, the type of work, quality of sleep and even the comfort of the ship.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency therefore seeks to promote education about prevention, recognition and mitigation of fatigue through guidance on human factors and safe working practices.

The UK Government’s border health measures are part of our strategy to tackle Variants of Concern, and to protect both the progress we have made in bringing cases down and the effectiveness of our vaccination programme

Therefore, on top of the travel ban for all on non-residents coming from the 33 countries on the red list, all UK/Irish residents arriving from the 33 red-list countries must now quarantine in a government assigned hotel for 10 days from arrival, or longer if they test positive during their stay. There is currently not an exemption for seafarers who arrive in the UK having travelled through a ‘red list’ country in the 10 days before arrival.

Since the start of the pandemic, the UK has provided exemptions for seafarers from the need to self-isolate where it has been safe to do so. We have also taken a global lead in efforts to protect the welfare of all seafarers, regardless of their nationality or the flag of the vessel they serve on.

If non-UK or Irish resident seafarers have not been in a red list country in the 10 days before arrival in the UK, they will be exempt from the requirement to quarantine at a private address.

Full details on quarantining can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england

The Royal Navy has previously celebrated the close links between the RN and the Merchant Navy (MN) on both Merchant Navy Day and other occasions, and will continue to do so.

In recognition of the close links between the RN and MN, all Naval Regional Commanders encouraged RN establishments within their regions to fly the Red Ensign on 3 September 2020. The intent is that this tradition will continue to grow in the coming years.

The Royal Navy (RN) has a global Maritime Trade Operations (MTO) capability with the ability to deploy personnel and resources quickly to support industry in the event of conflict or against a specific maritime security threat. This capability provides timely advice on Maritime Security Incidents to industry and additionally provides deconfliction between the military and the maritime trade.

While industry follows International Maritime Organisation protocols to ensure safety at sea during times of threat, the RN also conduct training scenarios with industry vessels on a regular basis to practice emergency procedures and reporting. Tactics to escort merchant shipping remain in both the UK and NATO doctrine to should there be a requirement in times of hostility. The RN also conduct Merchant Navy liaison courses and a mutual exchange scheme to allow wider familiarisation and experience of both RN and commercial shipping operations.

Merchant ships’ navigation officers, under part of their certificates of competency, are provided adequate practical training both ashore and on board to detect and respond to failures of satellite-based position, navigation and timing provisions.

They are, therefore, equipped to employ alternate methods and equipment, such as visual and radar lines of positions, and celestial navigation techniques for the coastal and oceanic phases of ships’ voyages respectively.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has not conducted any specific testing of radiocommunications with UK merchant ships.

Under the Safety of Life At Sea Convention, it is the responsibility of operators of merchant ships to ensure that those ships carry communications equipment that is consistent with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which provides an internationally operated maritime communications service.

UK-registered and regulated ships must have radio installations capable of GMDSS communications to shore for their sea areas of operation. In ocean regions they may choose to have either High Frequency (HF) radio or satellite communications, and in polar regions HF is mandatory.

Vessel operators are required to provide security information via pre-arrival notifications (PANs) through the Consolidated European Reporting System (CERS), prior to arrival into a UK port. The PAN includes details of the ship, previous port history, crew and passenger lists and special or additional security measures being taken. Under EC Regulation 725/2004 the UK is able to provide exemptions for the operators of regular, scheduled voyages between an EU port and a UK port.

From the 1 January 2021, UK legislation will allow the UK to continue to provide exemptions to vessels coming into the UK from EU ports, but operators will need to begin providing information if they have previously had an exemption in place. EU member states will not be able to issue exemptions to vessels operating scheduled services from the UK, irrespective of where the ship is registered or what country’s flag it sails under.

Industry stakeholders have been made aware of the change through stakeholder meetings, such as the National Maritime Security Committee for Industry, and officials wrote to industry stakeholders on a number of occasions to inform them of the change. The change was also published on GOV.UK on the 19 December 2018 and is available at the link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/getting-an-exemption-from-maritime-security-notifications-from-1-january-2021#what-shipping-companies-must-do

The Government is investing £2.5bn‎ to support the transition to zero emission vehicles on our roads. There are no plans to require the Office for Low Emission Vehicles to produce recommendations for the merchant shipping industry. The Government’s approach for decarbonising this sector is set out in the Clean Maritime Plan. Published in July 2019, the Plan outlines the UK’s pathway to zero carbon emissions in domestic maritime. Further plans on the decarbonisation of the maritime sector will be included in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, to be published later this year.