British Labour peer John Prescott has raised concerns in the House of Lords about Cunard registering its ships on Bermuda’s Register of Shipping.The British cruise line switched its ships’ registration from the UK to Bermuda in October to benefit from regulations here allowing couples to wed at sea.Under British law, couples can marry only while ships are in port and with a minister or notary public performing the honours. Bermuda’s regulations allow a captain to officiate out at sea.Lord Prescott, former deputy prime minister of the UK, raised the issue of British tax breaks for shipping companies in the Upper House of Parliament on Wednesday.He said: “I am concerned about the recent transfer of the Cunard steamship company, which enjoys this fiscal arrangement, to Bermuda.“It has retained the tax but been removed from the statutory requirement to have a captain or crew of a certain kind on its ships. That is unacceptable.”The former ship’s steward went on to say the loss last week of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, after it ran aground off Italy’s coast, “reminds us of the importance of having a captain and safe crew”.“The Concordia is owned by the American company that owns these ships,” he added. “There are two standards on cruise liners, which is totally unacceptable.”Cunard’s three cruise ships, the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2, are now registered in Bermuda.Former Transport Minister Terry Lister hailed the move last year as a vote of confidence in the Bermuda registry, which would bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual fees.No one from the Ministry of Transport or Cunard’s media relations team responded to requests for comment on Lord Prescott’s remarks yesterday.The Bermuda Ship Registry website states that shipowners whose vessels are registered here must comply with local regulations giving effect to the 1995 amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).“These regulations specify the requirements for certification and place clear responsibilities on shipowners to ensure that ships are manned by sufficient personnel holding the appropriate certificates.“The Bermuda Department of Maritime Administration does not issue certificates of competency. Instead it recognises by endorsement, in accordance with regulation I/10 of the STCW Convention, certificates issued by a range of other countries.”Useful websites: www.theyworkforyou.com/lords, www.bermudashipping.bm, www.cunard.com.