The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has last week issued a consultation proposing reform to the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations. These regulations stem from 2012 and so have not been updated for some time. The intention is to revoke and replace existing legislation, refreshing it to better reflect changing national and international requirements and obligations. This will come through better alignment with the IMO code, a simplification and clarification of the 2012 regulations, the removal of irrelevant EU legislation and the addition of criminal offences and penalties to existing requirements.