# The Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2026, Regulation 21: Recommendations


(1) The Chief Inspector may as a result of one or more safety investigations, whether or not completed, at any time make recommendations as to how future accidents may be prevented.
(2) The recommendations may be—
(a) addressed to a general class of persons, or
(b) served by notice on a person,
whom the Chief Inspector considers is most fitted to implement them.
(3) Recommendations may be published if the Chief Inspector considers that to do so is in the interests of safety or preventing damage to the environment.
(4) The Chief Inspector may, having regard to the nature of the recommendation made, require any person on whom a recommendation is served by notice in accordance with paragraph (2)(b) to—
(a) as soon as is reasonably practicable, take that recommendation into consideration,
(b) send to the Chief Inspector within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which the notice was served—
(i) details of the measures, if any, that they have taken or propose to take to implement the recommendation, and the timetable for securing that implementation, or
(ii) an explanation as to why the recommendation is not to be the subject of measures to be taken to implement it, and
(c) as soon as is reasonably practicable, give notice to the Chief Inspector if information provided under paragraph (4)(b)(i) is rendered inaccurate by any change of circumstances.
(5) Subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), the Chief Inspector must, in relation to each calendar year, publish information in respect of recommendations made in that calendar year, including the matters mentioned in paragraph (4)(b) and (c) which have been communicated to the Chief Inspector, and must inform the Secretary of State of those matters.
(6) The Chief Inspector must not publish information under paragraph (5) unless the Chief Inspector has—
(a) served a notice on all persons named in the information,
(b) invited any person on whom a notice is served under paragraph (a) to make representations to the Chief Inspector, and
(c) considered any representations made under paragraph (b) and amended the information as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.
(7) The Chief Inspector is not required to consider representations made under paragraph (6)(b) unless those representations are—
(a) made in writing, and
(b) received by the Chief Inspector within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which the notice was served under paragraph (6)(a), or such further period as may be allowed under regulation 22.
(8) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), if at any stage of a safety investigation the Chief Inspector considers that urgent action must be taken to prevent the risk of further accidents occurring, the Chief Inspector may inform any person, party or State the Chief Inspector considers relevant as soon as possible of the urgent action that should be taken by that person, party or State (as the case may be).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/430/regulation/21 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-accident-reporting-and-investigation-regulations-2026/regulation-21
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.