CLAR-2 Response Historic AI-assessed

Secretary of State to direct formal investigation includes search and rescue operation

Recommendation

Although I take the view that the remit of a formal investigation would include the search and rescue operation, I recommend that the Secretary of State give an express direction to that effect in accordance with regulation 4(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Formal Investigations) Rules 1985, as amended.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
This recommendation was conditional on the Secretary of State initiating a formal investigation into the Marchioness and Bowbelle collision. As no specific published evidence has been identified for the initiation of such a formal investigation, there is consequently no evidence regarding an express direction to include the search and rescue operation in its remit.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Historic

No government response recorded.

Source
Inquiry Clarke Inquiry
Report Clarke Inquiry — Final Report 23 Mar 2001
View Source
Themes & Tags
Emergency contingency plans Major project lessons learned
Recommendation age 25.0 yrs
Last formal update No formal updates