The British Ports Association has called on the Government to act immediately on recommendations from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to introduce enforceable alcohol limits for recreational boaters. In a letter to the Transport Secretary today, the Association says that now is the time to act to improve marine safety.
The MAIB report examines the collision of the rigid inflatable boat Peaky Blinder with a navigation beacon in Portsmouth Harbour on 14 August 2025, in which two people tragically lost their lives and a third was injured.
The report found that the boat was travelling at an unsafe speed and that the alcohol consumed by its operator substantially increased the likelihood of the accident. It also identified a longstanding gap in UK law, with no enforceable alcohol limits applying to non-professional mariners. The BPA has been calling for this loophole to be closed for over two decades.
The MAIB has recommended that the Secretary of State for Transport:
- bring into force the alcohol provisions for non-professional mariners contained in section 80 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003
- introduce proportionate secondary legislation defining how the limits will apply, and
- establish a national education and awareness campaign to support behavioural change among recreational boaters.
Parliament legislated for alcohol limits for both professional and non-professional mariners in 2003, but the principal provisions relating to recreational users were excluded when most of the legislation was brought into force the following year.
Introducing alcohol limits would not amount to a blanket ban on drinking aboard recreational vessels. It would mean that the person responsible for navigating the vessel must remain within prescribed limits, following the same basic principle that applies on the road and in other safety-critical forms of transport.
The necessary powers already exist. Ministers can act through a commencement order and proportionate secondary legislation without waiting for a new Act of Parliament.
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the two people who lost their lives and with everyone affected by this terrible accident.
The purpose of an accident investigation is to prevent another tragedy, and the MAIB’s findings and recommendations must now lead to action. Its report is clear that alcohol substantially increased the likelihood of this accident and that the absence of enforceable limits remains a serious gap in UK maritime safety law.
Parliament provided the powers needed to address this in 2003. Twenty-three years later, the relevant provisions have still not been brought into force, despite repeated warnings from ports, harbour masters and safety investigators.
The Government should accept the MAIB’s recommendations and publish a clear timetable for implementing them. The evidence has been under review for long enough. We should not wait for another fatal accident before closing a loophole that should never have remained open.
Chief Executive, British Ports Association
Notes
- The Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 established prescribed alcohol limits for professional and non-professional mariners. Most of the relevant provisions came into force in 2004, but subsections 80(1), 80(2) and 80(3), covering non-professional mariners, did not.
- The BPA has repeatedly raised the issue with successive governments, including through Maritime Safety Week and direct correspondence with ministers. Our letter today can be found here.
- The MAIB’s recommendations to the Secretary of State for Transport are numbered 2026/153, 2026/154 and 2026/155.