Section 242: Marine licensing: enforcement in Scottish offshore region
642.This section enables Scottish Ministers to appoint persons for the purposes of enforcing licensing under Part 4 of this Act in the Scottish offshore region. Such officers will have access to the common enforcement powers in Chapter 2 of this Part and the specific power for requiring certain information relating to licensing in Chapter 3. These officers may not exercise their powers to enforce Part 4 so far as it relates to a limited range of reserved matters, such as oil and gas related activities (see section 240).
643.If an officer appointed by Scottish Ministers to enforce licensing is investigating an offence suspected of being committed within the Scottish offshore region, the powers to investigate on land and in inshore waters elsewhere in the UK may be used. To enforce in the offshore area other than in the Scottish offshore region, these powers will need to be used under domestic hot pursuit rules (see explanatory note to section 236).