Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is taking to encourage people to join the merchant navy.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has no direct control over recruitment into the merchant navy.

The MCA works with strategic partners such as the Chamber of Shipping, Nautilus, the RMT and organisations such as the British Tugowners Association and National Workboat Association to encourage economic growth, including the employment of seafarers.

The MCA also manages the Government’s Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme that subsidises seafarer training by £15M annually. More than 700 new officer trainees started last year. The MCA is also involved with industry in supporting the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills apprenticeships for seafarers.