KIMO UK is delighted by the announcement that the Transport Select Committee is to conduct an inquiry into the Government’s proposals for the coastguard service. The inquiry will also cover the changes to the arrangements for Emergency Towing Vessels (ETV) and the Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG), changes that KIMO UK have been campaigning against to ensure that the UK remains best equipped for a marine pollution incident.
It gives finally gives interested parties an opportunity to officially respond to the Department for Transports drastic proposals. The inquiry may also go someway to establishing why the government are trying to progress with their ETV and MIRG proposals without conducting any form of consultation.
KIMO UK believe that the proposed, and un risk assessed, coastguard reorganisation is ill thought out and would severely effect the regions abilities to respond to maritime emergencies, we believe all four tugs must be kept in service to ensure that there are no gaps UK’s pollution prevention capabilities and we believe disbanding the MIRG would be remarkably short sighted as it provides an excellent forum in which maritime and shore side best practice can be improved.
Tom Piper, KIMO UK spokesman said: “We are delighted that the transport select committee has chosen to open an inquiry into the poorly thought out proposals and the haphazard way in which the government has tried to rush them through perhaps common sense will now prevail.”
