Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009

242 Marine licensing: enforcement in Scottish offshore region

(1) The Scottish Ministers may appoint persons for the purposes of enforcing Part 4 of this Act, except so far as relating to any activity falling within section 113(3) (activities relating to certain reserved matters).

(2) For the purposes referred to in subsection (1), a person appointed under this section has—

(a) the common enforcement powers conferred by this Act;

(b) the power conferred by section 263.

(3) Subject to subsection (8), the powers which a person appointed under this section has for the purposes referred to in subsection (1) may be exercised—

(a) in the Scottish offshore region (and in relation to any vessel, aircraft or marine structure in that region);

(b) in any area within the United Kingdom or the UK inshore region, in relation to an offence which the person reasonably believes has been committed within the Scottish offshore region;

(c) in relation to any vessel, aircraft or marine structure in any other area within the UK marine area which has been pursued there in accordance with subsection (4).

(4) A vessel, aircraft or marine structure is pursued in accordance with this subsection if—

(a) immediately before the pursuit of the vessel, aircraft or structure commences, the vessel, aircraft or structure is in the Scottish offshore region,

(b) before the pursuit of the vessel, aircraft or structure commences, a signal is given for it to stop, and

(c) the pursuit of the vessel, aircraft or structure is not interrupted.

(5) The signal referred to in subsection (4)(b) must be given in such a way as to be audible or visible from the vessel, aircraft or structure in question.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (4)(c), pursuit is not interrupted by reason only of the fact that—

(a) the method of carrying out the pursuit, or

(b) the identity of the vessel or aircraft carrying out the pursuit,

changes during the course of the pursuit.

(7) Nothing in this section affects any right of hot pursuit which a person appointed under this section may have under international law.

(8) The powers which a person appointed under this section has for the purposes referred to in subsection (1) may not be exercised in relation to any British warship.

(9) In this section “UK inshore region” means the area of sea within the seaward limits of the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom.

(10) Any term used in this section and in Part 4 of this Act has the same meaning in this section as it has in that Part.