TWO of the region’s MEPs are still battling to keep regular boat trips between Scarborough and Whitby afloat.

Tom Machin is still prevented from sailing the MV Coronia – which helped with the Dunkirk evacuation during the Second World War – the 17 nautical miles to Whitby because of Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) restrictions in response to EU regulations.

The legislation says that class C vessels, such as the Coronia, may travel no more than 15 nautical miles from the nearest refuge point.

But as the MCA never adopted the restriction, it has maintained the existing British ruling, limiting it to a journey of 15 nautical miles from its port of origin.

Last year there was a groundswell of support for the Coronia when a total of 12,000 people signed a petition against the ruling – which also affected the Scarborough-based Regal Lady and the Bridlington-based Yorkshire Belle.

The cause was championed by both Richard Corbett MEP and Edward MacMillan Scott who represent Yorkshire and the Humber in the European Parliament.

This week they have both promised to pursue the matter with Jim Fitzpatrick, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, to see if there has been any progress.

Mr Corbett said: “The reply I received on the issue of the Coronia and the Yorkshire Belle was positive in that it implied that they were content with the safety standards of British vessels.

“They also informed me that the UK authorities could anyway contact the Commission to request that exemptions be granted, as they did before, allowing the Coronia and Yorkshire Belle to continue sailing.

He added he had contacted Mr Fitzpatrick and would be pursuing it as a “matter of urgency”.

Mr MacMillan Scott said he had also written to Mr Fitzpatrick and had followed up his letter last week.

He said: “People who’d read the story were also under the same constraints further up the coast. I will be asking him to look into this for them as well.”

Tom Machin, Coronia’s owner, said he was still positive the matter would be resolved and daily trips to Whitby would soon return. He said: “It has been upsetting and such a lot of people have been coming down wanting to go on the Whitby trips. We are having to say they are not on.

“All those who signed the petition are coming down to ask if there have been any developments. There’s nothing I can tell them. I am hoping we can get something sorted out sooner rather than later. It’s looking more positive than it was all last year.”

From The Scarborough Evening News on Tuesday, May 20, 2008.