Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what mechanisms his Department has put in place for responding to allegations that a competent harbour authority has not acted in conformity with the provisions of the Pilotage Act 1987.

Mr Robert Goodwill

It is a Competent Harbour Authority which has the statutory duty to determine what pilotage services need to be provided to secure the safety of navigation of vessels operating in their waters. Where a ruling on the legality of its actions is needed, that is a matter for the court rather than the Department.