The Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025 (SI 2025/1094) updates the 1989 framework so that current Merchant Shipping provisions on casualty investigations, safety, pollution control, fee charging and ambulatory references also apply to hovercraft. The instrument was made on 15 October 2025 and entered into force on 16 October 2025, with UK‑wide extent.
On casualty inquiries, article 2 of the 1989 Order is replaced so that the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012 and sections 267–270 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 apply to hovercraft, alongside the Merchant Shipping (Formal Investigations) Rules 1985. In effect, MAIB’s accident reporting regime and the statutory machinery for formal investigations, rehearings and appeals now operate for hovercraft as they do for ships, with references to “ship” read as “hovercraft”.
The Schedule of modifications to the 1985 Formal Investigations Rules is refreshed. “Accident” now takes the definition in regulation 3 of the 2012 Regulations; the obsolete definition of “officer” is removed; and at the conclusion of a formal investigation the wreck commissioner must give a brief public summary of findings and report to the Secretary of State. These changes update language and align outcomes reporting with contemporary practice.
Pollution prevention provisions are comprehensively modernised. The Order substitutes repealed references and applies the present suite of instruments to hovercraft, including the 1987 and 1990 Prevention and Control of Pollution Orders; the Control of Pollution (SOLAS) Order 1998; the Port Waste Reception Facilities Regulations 2003; the Prevention of Air Pollution Orders and 2008 Regulations; the 2018 Noxious Liquid Substances Regulations; the 2019 Oil Pollution Regulations; the 2020 Sewage and the 2020 Garbage Regulations; and specified provisions of the 2024 Carriage of Dangerous Goods amendments. It also confirms that sections 130A–130E of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 on waste reception facilities and plans apply.
The entry for the Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971 is updated to remove repealed provisions and add section 11A, and the general wording confirms that where these enactments refer to a “ship”, they are to be read as referring to a “hovercraft”. This closes legacy gaps and ensures MARPOL‑based regimes for oil, sewage, garbage and air emissions bite for hovercraft without bespoke drafting.
On safety, article 4 of the 1989 Order is amended so that sections 85 and 86 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 govern safety regulations for hovercraft. This enables the Secretary of State to make safety regulations, approvals and exemptions for hovercraft on the same statutory footing as for ships.
Two forward‑looking changes are central. New article 6 applies section 302 of the 1995 Act so the Secretary of State may prescribe fees for actions taken in relation to hovercraft, aligning charging powers with those used for ships; ministers indicated this supports extending Merchant Shipping fee regulations to hovercraft later in 2025. New article 7 applies section 306A so that ambulatory references to international instruments in subordinate legislation under the 1995 Act operate for hovercraft, keeping requirements in step with future IMO updates.
The Order also tidies the 1989 instrument by omitting Parts A and B of Schedule 1 and Schedule 2, removing material superseded by the updated investigation and safety provisions. The application extends across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and operates by reading references to “ship” as references to “hovercraft”, unless stated otherwise.
For operators and harbour authorities, the operational effect is immediate. Hovercraft casualties now fall within the MAIB regime and the formal investigation procedure; port waste planning, delivery‑charge and reporting duties under the 2003 Port Waste Regulations apply in the same way; and MARPOL‑derived limits on air emissions, oil discharges, sewage and garbage management apply by default. Existing UK commercial hovercraft, currently regulated as high‑speed craft, already meet comparable standards; the cross‑application ensures future operations are captured without delay.
Scrutiny and process details are on the record. The Department for Transport laid the draft on 1 July 2025; the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee cleared it; no public consultation and no full impact assessment were required as the instrument modernises existing powers rather than creating new obligations; and it was made by the Privy Council in mid‑October.