Section 19 provides a power for the Secretary of State to issue directions to UK craft for the purpose of implementing emergency measures adopted under Article 24 of the BBNJ Agreement. These measures may be adopted by the Conference of Parties where a natural phenomenon or human-caused disaster has caused, or is likely to cause, serious or irreversible harm to marine biological diversity in ABNJ.
	Section 19 subsection (2) enables the Secretary of State to impose requirements by direction, without the need for secondary legislation, where immediate action is required to give effect to such emergency measures. Section 19 subsection (3) provides that directions must be issued in writing and Section 19 subsection (4) requires directions to be laid before Parliament.
	Section 19 subsection (5) provides that the Secretary of State may vary or revoke a direction.
	Section 19 subsection (6) confirms that directions cease to have effect upon termination of the measure adopted under Article 24 to which they relate.
	Section 19 subsection (7) creates a criminal offence for failure to comply with a direction without reasonable excuse. Subsection (8) sets out the penalties for this offence, being a fine on summary conviction and on conviction on indictment, a fine, imprisonment for up to 2 years, or both. Section 19 subsection (9) provides that proceedings for an offence committed outside the UK may be taken in the UK and the offence treated as if committed in the UK.
	Directions under Section 19 are distinct from the regulations made under Section 14 and are not subject to the procedures set out in Section 15. Section 19 provides a separate emergency mechanism designed to enable immediate compliance of UK craft with urgent international obligations, whereas Sections 14 and 15 govern the making of regulations to implement broader or longer-term measures or to implement emergency measures for other activities.
	This power is modelled on existing direction-making powers available to the Secretary of State’s Representative (SOSREP) under Schedule 3A of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, which are used to respond to maritime emergencies. Section 19 adopts a similar approach for implementing international emergency measures, ensuring consistency with established UK practice in maritime emergency response.
Part 3 – Area-Based Management Tools (ABMT) Section 19: Directions