The Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment etc.) Order 2026

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

This Order amends the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (c. 23) (“ the 2009 Act ”), the Marine Licensing (Exempted Activities) Order 2011 ( S.I. 2011/409 ) (“ the 2011 Order ”), and the Marine Licensing (Register of Licensing Information) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. 2011/424 ) (“ the 2011 Regulations ”).

Part 1 addresses preliminary matters. Article 2 provides that the licensable marine activities added to section 66(1) of the 2009 Act under article 4 are designated as activities added in contemplation of the United Kingdom’s obligations under Part 4 of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, which relates to environmental impact assessments. Article 2(2) provides that the activities are not designated to the extent that they involve doing anything in the course of laying or maintaining an offshore stretch of exempt submarine cable. The meaning of an exempt submarine cable can be found in section 81(5) of the 2009 Act.

Part 2 amends Part 4 of the 2009 Act (marine licensing), in particular section 66 (licensable marine activities). Article 4 adds ten new licensable marine activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the “new activities”) to the existing list of licensable marine activities in section 66(1). Under Article 1 of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, “ Areas beyond national jurisdiction ” means the high seas and the Area. The Area is defined in Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as “the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction”. The high seas are defined in Article 86 of UNCLOS as “all parts of the seas that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State, or in the archipelagic waters of an archipelagic State”. Article 4 also makes amendments to existing items 2, 5 and 12 of the list in section 66(1) so that they do not include activities carried on in areas beyond national jurisdiction (so as to avoid duplication with the new activities specified in items 14, 16 and 22). Article 4 also adds a definition of “United Kingdom person” to section 66 and amends existing definitions of “dredging” and “incineration” in that section to include new activities where relevant. Articles 5 and 6 make consequential amendments to the 2009 Act.

Part 3 amends the 2011 Order, which specifies licensable marine activities in respect of which a marine licence under Part 4 of the 2009 Act is not required, whether subject to conditions or otherwise. Article 8 amends the meaning of a “deposit”, a “dredging activity”, a “removal activity” and a “works activity” set out in article 6 of the 2011 Order, to ensure that the new activities are included in the definitions where relevant. Articles 9, 10, 11 and 12 make amendments to certain existing exemptions to make them unavailable where the activity falls within item 21 (deposit or use of explosives in an area beyond national jurisdiction etc). Article 13 creates three new exemptions from the need for a marine licence, by inserting articles 39, 40 and 41 into the 2011 Order. The insertion of article 39 creates an exemption where a notice has been issued under the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. 2007/1518 ) stating that an environmental impact assessment is not required, or where a screening opinion has been issued stating that an environmental impact assessment is not required. This exemption only applies in relation to the new activities listed in items 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 or 23. The insertion of article 40 exempts certain licensable marine activities specified in section 21(1) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 5) . The insertion of article 41 creates an exemption for the removal of an offshore stretch of exempt submarine cables in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Part 4 makes amendments to the 2011 Regulations, which prescribe the particulars of the matters required by section 101 of the 2009 Act to be contained in the register of information maintained by the Secretary of State as a licensing authority. The amendments ensure that the existing provisions apply to the new activities where relevant.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.