# The Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2026, Regulation 12: Conduct of a safety investigation


(1) Where a safety investigation is carried out under these Regulations, it must be carried out by one or more inspectors at such times and places and in such manner as appear to them most conducive to achieving the objective in regulation 5.
(2) The Chief Inspector may appoint one or more persons who are not inspectors appointed under the Act for the purpose of carrying out an investigation where—
(a) inspectors appointed under the Act are not conveniently available, or
(b) the persons appointed have special qualifications or experience.
(3) A person appointed under paragraph (2) has the powers conferred on an inspector by sections 259 and 267(8) of the Act.
(4) A person required to attend before an inspector is entitled to the reasonable expenses of attending, payable by the Secretary of State.
(5) A person (“A”) required to attend at a witness interview before an inspector may be accompanied by—
(a) a solicitor or other professional legal adviser acting solely on A’s behalf, or
(b) subject to paragraph (6), a person nominated or selected by A to accompany A.
(6) The person accompanying A referred to in paragraph (5)(b) may at any time be excluded from being present by the inspector with the agreement of the Chief Inspector if the conditions in paragraph (7) are met.
(7) The conditions in this paragraph are—
(a) both the inspector and Chief Inspector have substantial reason to believe that the presence of that person would hamper the investigation with the result that the objective in regulation 5 is likely to be hindered, and
(b) the Chief Inspector is satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances, that it is proper to exclude that person.
(8) Where a person accompanying A under paragraph (5)(b) is excluded under paragraph (6), A may nominate another person to be present at the witness interview in place of the person excluded, in which case paragraph (6) applies to that other person.
(9) An inspector may record a witness interview of any person who is assisting a safety investigation in any manner that the Chief Inspector considers reasonable.
(10) An inspector carrying out a safety investigation must take into account the provisions of the IMO’s Resolution and guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident, as modified from time to time.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/430/regulation/12 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-accident-reporting-and-investigation-regulations-2026/regulation-12
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.