General Lighthouse Authorities (Beacons: Automatic Identification System) Order 2006

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his clear and lucid explanation of the order. I am pleased to say that we are happy to lend our support, recognising the importance of the legislation in improving the safety of international shipping, especially in and around UK waters. I congratulate the Government on being at the forefront of introducing and promoting this new technology. Anything that helps to lessen the possibility of another major incident at sea should be welcomed. Therefore, I will not detain your Lordships’ House too long on the order; certainly no more than is strictly necessary. However, I shall take the opportunity to ask a number of short questions. First, where will the scheme operate? Is the idea that it will cover all the waters around the United Kingdom, or will it cover simply those areas that experience the greatest density of shipping, such as the Dover Straits? This is a very important point, which needs clarifying. The Minister may recall that, a couple of months ago, we all participated in a Starred Question on improving the safety of shipping around the Minch Strait. If I recall correctly, calls were made then that such an environmentally sensitive area should be covered by just this sort of technology. Given that we have this technology in place, it is strange to restrict it to use in particularly difficult areas. Secondly, can the Minister give us an idea of the time scale for the introduction of the scheme and, linking this to my previous question, say whether it will be rolled out nationally or just gradually in one or two pilot areas? Finally, I notice in the Explanatory Notes that the shipboard version of this technology is fitted to all vessels over 300 tonnes that have signed up to SOLAS—the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. Therefore, presumably we could still have vessels significantly over 300 tonnes in UK waters without this technology simply because they have not signed up to SOLAS. Indeed, can the Minister tell us what proportion of shipping passing through UK waters has this system already in place? What steps will the Government take to close this anomaly and to ensure that all vessels greater than 300 tonnes have the onboard version of the technology, regardless of whether they have signed up to the necessary convention? I hope the Minister will be able to help me with my short questions. Other than that, we on these Benches support the order.