[kanga]

Archaic and ineffective attempt at trying to monitor people and goods traffic.

...

I have no relevant direct knowledge (if I had I obviously would not be posting here .. ), but I can see how the current provisions probably were and may still be partially effective in helping to monitor the flow of actual or potential identified miscreants between mainland GB and NI/IoM/CI (both ways). This precisely relies on the fact that the vast majority of GA pilots and aerodrome operators/users are, indeed, law-abiding (as posted above). This presumably also means that any such miscreant trying to travel covertly would know (or readily be able to discover) that trying to suborn or coerce a GA pilot into assisting such covert travel was far from easy or uncomplicated. This presumably means that such miscreants will usually choose to travel by public transport routes, sea or air, and hope to evade the identification or attention which the authorities permanently mount at the termini of such routes. But, of course, there are also private marine craft ..

Of course, I do not know how true or needed this deterrent effect was or is, but very recent events have shown that there remains a real threat of villainy planned from one side of the Irish Sea against targets on the other.

And this, of course, is not within the remit of any part of the CAA to judge. It rests with the Home Office and the various Agencies for which the Home Secetary is responsible.

[Others, of course, are free to argue that no part of HMG should attempt to monitor the movement of any persons between one part of UK and another ..]

[riverrock]

well to take a car over to N.I from Scotland, you just need to give your name and your gender. They are supposed to take a note of your reg number - but I've taken a different car than what I booked with - so that isn't checked. If you turn up at the harbour you can pay in cash and`they'll accept you less than 30min before sailing. I've never seen them do a detailed security check on any car, bar showing that you've turned the gas off if you are towing a caravan. You don't need to provide any ID - certainly not a passport. Fastest crossing time is 1 hour (Larne - Cairnryan).
I struggle to see how a GAR is proportionate for NI. Lets not talk about IoM - where there aren't known security issues.

However - as others say - it isn't in the CAA's remit.

[N-Jacko]

Or sailing from one totally unmonitored cove to another with no record of the journey.

I have a 6 berth 32 ft motor cruiser which I could easily use to cross the channel without telling a soul.(Weather permitting of course!)

It is often worth reading an Act of Parliament. Section 12 of Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 applies to "ships" (including hovercraft) as well as aircraft.

However, there is no statutory requirement to submit a GAR form, online or otherwise. All that is required if calling at or leaving a non designated port is for the captain to give at least 12 hours notice in writing to the police in whose area the port is situated. For a VFR flight, such 12-hour notice clearly can't include precise flight times, alternates etc. which are dependent on Met Office forms 214 and 215.

After the journey, the owner or agents of a ship or aircraft are required by Section 17 of Schedule 7 to comply as soon as is reasonably practicable with any written request for information prescribed by the Secretary of State which relates to passengers and their vehicles, crew and/or goods.

The GAR form gold-plates these quasi-totalitarian provisions, but we are free to use it if it is convenient to do so.