To support clean, safer, and modern shipping in the EU, today the Council adopted four new pieces of legislation of the so-called \u2018maritime safety\u2019 legislative package, namely those amending the relevant directives on:<\/p>\n
– the\u00a0investigation of accidents\u00a0in the maritime transport sector<\/p>\n
–\u00a0ship-source pollution<\/p>\n
– compliance with\u00a0flag state requirements, and<\/p>\n
– \u00a0port state control.<\/p>\n
The revised \u2018package\u2019 achieves a careful balance between, on the one hand, the need to ensure a\u00a0high quality of shipping\u00a0and, on the other, the need to safeguard the\u00a0competitiveness\u00a0of the European shipping sector, while also maintaining reasonable costs for operators and member states’ administrations. Overall, it will equip the EU with modern tools to support\u00a0clean shipping\u00a0by aligning EU rules with international standards while improving implementation and enforcement through an\u00a0enhanced cooperation framework\u00a0between European and national authorities.<\/p>\n
Directive on accidents investigation<\/strong> improves the\u00a0protection of fishing vessels, their crews, and the environment, with fishing vessels less than 15 metres in length now included within the scope of the directive, meaning that accidents involving fatalities and loss of vessels will be investigated in a harmonised way<\/p>\n clarifies the definitions and the legal provisions so that member states\u2019 accident investigation bodies investigate all accidents that need to be investigated in a timely and harmonised manner<\/p>\n enhances the capacity of accident investigation bodies to conduct and report on accident investigations in a timely, expert, and independent manner<\/p>\n updates several definitions and references to relevant EU legislation and IMO regulations, to ensure clarity and consistency<\/p>\n enables accident investigation bodies to conduct accident investigations in a harmonised way throughout the EU by making the existing rules clearer and more consistent with international regulations<\/p>\n strengthens the provisions regarding the independence of accident investigation bodies and the confidentiality of their findings and reduces unnecessary administrative burdens.<\/p>\n Directive on ship-source pollution<\/strong> extends the\u00a0scope\u00a0of the current directive to cover illegal discharges of harmful substances in packaged form, sewage, garbage and discharged waters and residues from exhaust gas cleaning systems<\/p>\n establishes a strengthened legal framework for administrative penalties and their effective application, enabling national authorities to ensure a dissuasive and consistent imposition of sanctions to ship-source pollution incidents in all European seas<\/p>\n separates the administrative sanctions regime from the criminal sanctions\u2019 regime enshrined in the new draft environmental crimes directive<\/p>\n ensures clarity and coherence with international rules and procedures, particularly those of the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL), in the interest of protection of the marine environment.<\/p>\n Directive on compliance with flag state requirements<\/strong> updates the current legislation and aligns it with\u00a0international rules, mainly regarding the IMO instruments implementation code (\u2018III code\u2019)<\/p>\n ensures adequate inspections of flagged ships and monitoring oversight of recognised organisations working on behalf of the flag state<\/p>\n ensures a higher uptake of digital solutions<\/p>\n ensures a harmonised approach in the understanding, reporting, and measuring of the performance of flag states\u2019 fleets and duties.<\/p>\n Directive on port state control<\/strong> updates EU legislation and aligns it with\u00a0international rules and procedures\u00a0as set out in the Paris memorandum of understanding (MoU) and IMO conventions, Next steps<\/strong> Background information<\/strong> .consilium.europa.eu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To support clean, safer, and modern shipping in the EU, today the Council adopted four […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":237864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,298],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritimes-news","category-seagoing-maritimes-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe revised directive on investigation of accidents in the maritime sector:<\/p>\n
\nThe revised directive incorporates\u00a0international standards\u00a0into EU law, ensuring that those responsible for illegal discharges of polluting substances are subject to dissuasive, effective, and proportionate\u00a0penalties\u00a0to improve maritime safety and better protect the marine environment from pollution by ships. The revised law therefore:<\/p>\n
\nThe directive regulates the enforcement of rules applicable to flag state at the EU level. The responsibility for monitoring the\u00a0compliance of ships with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conventions\u00a0lies with the state where the ship is registered and whose nationality the ship holds: the flag state. The revised directive therefore:<\/p>\n
\nPort state control (PSC) is a system of\u00a0inspection of foreign ships\u00a0in ports of states other than the flag state by PSC officers, to verify that the competency of the master, officers and crew on board, the condition of a ship, and its equipment comply with the requirements of international conventions and, in the EU, with applicable EU law. As such, PSC is important in ensuring\u00a0maritime safety\u00a0and in protecting the marine environment. The revised directive:<\/p>\n
\nprotects\u00a0fishing vessels, their crews, and the environment, including by introducing a voluntary inspections regime for larger fishing vessels (more than 24 metres in length),
\nensures an\u00a0efficient and harmonised approach\u00a0to carrying out PSC inspections.<\/p>\n
\nFollowing their signature by the presidents of the Council and of the European parliament, all four legislative acts will be published in the EU\u2019s Official Journal in the coming weeks and enter into force twenty days after this publication. Member states will have 30 months after the entry into force of the revised directives to transpose their provisions in their national legislation.<\/p>\n
\nThe four legislative proposals form part of the maritime safety \u2018package\u2019 together with the one on the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). They were submitted by the Commission on 1 June 2023 aiming to modernise EU rules on maritime safety and reduce water pollution from ships. \u00a0With 75% of the EU’s external trade being seaborne, maritime transport is not only the artery of a globalised economy, but also a lifeline for the EU’s islands and peripheral and remote maritime regions. Although maritime safety in EU waters is currently very high, with few fatalities and no recent major oil spills, more than 2,000 marine accidents and incidents are still reported every year. Provisional agreements between the co-legislators on the four legislative proposals were reached in February this year.<\/p>\n