Increased the hourly fee rates for specialist and non-specialist officers involved in the environmental regulation of offshore oil and gas activities.

These Regulations increase the hourly rates used to calculate fees for environmental regulatory activities performed by the Secretary of State in Relation to the offshore oil and gas industry.

The instrument amends the rate for specialist officers from £210 to £256 and for non-specialist officers from £114 to £130 across several statutory frameworks, including those governing habitat conservation, offshore safety, and environmental impact assessments.

These changes apply to operators and entities subject to UK offshore licensing and environmental compliance monitoring in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Amended maritime labour regulations to expand ship security documentation requirements and mandate seafarer rights disclosures by recruitment agencies.

This statutory instrument amends existing UK maritime regulations to align with international standards set by the Maritime Labour Convention.

It directs shipowners to include the identity of a ship's registered owner on security documents and mandates that recruitment agencies inform seafarers of their rights under financial protection systems before employment begins.

The regulations apply to shipowners, registered owners, and employment agencies or businesses involved in the recruitment and placement of seafarers on sea-going ships.

The 2026 Regulations updated and consolidated mandatory registration requirements for EPIRBs and PLBs on UK vessels, repealed prior legislation, and established enforcement mechanisms including ship detention.

These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State on March 18, 2026, update and consolidate the requirements for registering Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) carried on UK ships and hovercraft, coming into force on April 15, 2026.

The legislation revokes the previous EPIRB registration regulations, specifies that registration particulars must align with Merchant Shipping Notice 1924 (M+F), establishes penalties including fines and imprisonment for non-compliance by owners and masters, and grants powers to detain ships found in contravention.

Furthermore, the instrument makes consequential amendments to other regulations, including applying these new registration rules to watercraft.

The Order increased the statutory borrowing limit for General Lighthouse Authorities under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to £166 million, effective March 31, 2026.

This Statutory Instrument, made by the Secretary of State for Transport with Treasury approval under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, increases the maximum aggregate amount General Lighthouse Authorities can borrow from £133 million to £166 million, effective from 12:01 a.m. on 31st March 2026, and extends this provision across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The Regulations revoked and restated previous marine equipment legislation, established new UK conformity assessment procedures utilizing approved and nominated bodies, defined economic operator obligations, and introduced enforcement measures.

These Regulations establish the framework for ensuring marine equipment placed on board UK ships complies with relevant international safety and pollution prevention standards, replacing the 2016 regulations and associated EU exit amendments; they define the roles and responsibilities of manufacturers, importers, distributors, approved bodies (for UK conformity approval), and nominated bodies (for type approval), and lay out detailed conformity assessment procedures, enforcement powers including ship detention, and consequential amendments to related maritime legislation.

The Merchant Shipping (Polar Code) (Safety) Regulations 2025 were enacted, implementing updated IMO requirements for polar navigation, extending compliance to smaller vessels, and amending preceding survey, certification, and fee regulations.

These Regulations, titled the Merchant Shipping (Polar Code) (Safety) Regulations 2025, update UK domestic law to incorporate the latest amendments from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Resolutions MSC.532(107) and MSC.538(107) concerning ships operating in polar waters, effectively replacing the 2021 Regulations.

The new rules come into force on 1st January 2026 and apply to United Kingdom ships and specific non-UK ships operating in Arctic and Antarctic waters, extending mandatory safety requirements, including detailed structural, navigational, and training provisions from the Polar Code, to additional categories of ships such as smaller cargo ships, fishing vessels, and pleasure vessels, while also amending several existing pieces of maritime legislation relating to surveys, certification, and training fees.

The UK enacted the Merchant Shipping (Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure) Regulations 2025, which consolidated prior rules, defined survey and certification procedures based on vessel size using specific Codes of Practice, established dispute resolution mechanisms, clarified certificate validity periods, and set out enforcement powers for non-compliance.

These Regulations update and consolidate the legal framework governing merchant vessels used in commercial activities related to sport or pleasure, applying to UK vessels globally and other seagoing vessels in UK waters, excluding those carrying more than twelve passengers or pleasure vessels not engaged commercially.

The legislation details specific survey and certification requirements based on vessel size (large vessels subject to the REG Code, small vessels subject to the SCV Code), establishes appeal processes including arbitration for survey disputes, outlines certificate validity and conditions for cancellation, sets out operational requirements, and defines offenses and detention powers for enforcement against non-compliant vessels.

The Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2025 amended the 2018 Fees Regulations to extend their general application by three years and altered the expiry terms for the safety communications fee entry.

These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State for Transport with the consent of the Treasury under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, amend the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018, chiefly by extending their general period of effect by three years until November 2028, while simultaneously terminating the effect of a specific fee entry related to safety communications fees after seven years.