Part 4Marine licensing
Licensable marine activities
21Licensable marine activities
(1)
For the purposes of this Part, it is a licensable marine activity to do any of the following—
1
To deposit any substance or object within the Scottish marine area, either in the sea or on or under the seabed, from any of the following—
(a)
a vehicle, vessel, aircraft or marine structure,
(b)
a container floating in the sea, or
(c)
a structure on land constructed or adapted wholly or mainly for the purpose of depositing solids in the sea.
2
To deposit any substance or object anywhere in the sea or on or under the seabed from a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, marine structure or floating container which was loaded with the substance or object either—
(a)
in Scotland, or
(b)
in the Scottish marine area.
3
To scuttle any vessel or floating container in the Scottish marine area.
4
To scuttle any vessel or floating container anywhere at sea, if the vessel or container has been towed or propelled for the purpose of that scuttling either—
(a)
from Scotland, or
(b)
from the Scottish marine area (except where the towing or propelling began outside that area).
5
To construct, alter or improve any works within the Scottish marine area either—
(a)
in or over the sea, or
(b)
on or under the seabed.
6
To use a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, marine structure or floating container to remove any substance or object from the seabed within the Scottish marine area.
7
To carry out any form of dredging within the Scottish marine area (whether or not involving the removal of any material from the sea or seabed).
8
To deposit or use any explosive substance or article within the Scottish marine area either in the sea or on or under the seabed.
9
To incinerate any substance or object on any vehicle, vessel, marine structure or floating container in the Scottish marine area.
10
To load a vehicle, vessel, marine structure or floating container in Scotland or in the Scottish marine area with any substance or object for incineration anywhere at sea.
(2)
In subsection (1)—
(a)
in item 7, “dredging” includes using any device to move any material (whether or not suspended in water) from one part of the sea or seabed to another part,
(b)
in item 10, “incineration” means the combustion of a substance or object for the purpose of its thermal destruction (and in item 9 “incinerate” is to be read accordingly),
(c)
nothing therein is to be taken to apply to fishing by any method.
(3)
The Scottish Ministers may by order––
(a)
amend subsection (1) so as to add or remove any activity from the list of licensable marine activities,
(b)
make such amendment consequential on such amendment of subsection (1) as they consider appropriate to any other provision of this Act.
F1(3A)
An order under subsection (3) that adds an activity may designate the activity as activity added in contemplation of the United Kingdom’s obligations—
(a)
under Part 3 of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (area-based management tools), or
(b)
in respect of an activity that takes place in an area beyond national jurisdiction, under Part 4 of that Agreement (environmental impact assessments).
(3B)
Where an order contains provision within subsection (3A), the related provision that may be made in the order in reliance on section 165(1)(b) (consequential etc provision) includes provision amending an enactment (whenever passed or made).
(3C)
In subsection (3A)—
“area beyond national jurisdiction” has the meaning that it has in the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (see Article 1);
“the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement” means the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, opened for signature at New York on 20 September 2023.
(4)
In deciding whether to make an order under subsection (3), the Scottish Ministers must have regard to—
(a)
the need to protect the environment,
(b)
the need to protect human health,
(c)
the need to prevent interference with legitimate uses of the sea,
(d)
such other matters as the Ministers consider relevant.