The “Erika III” package, aimed at protecting Europe's coasts from maritime disasters and improving passenger and crew safety, was adopted by Parliament on Wednesday.

 

The “Erika III” package, aimed at protecting Europe's coasts from maritime disasters and improving passenger and crew safety, was adopted by Parliament on Wednesday. The eight regulations and directives will tighten safety requirements for ships flying an EU Member State flag or navigating in European waters and thus help prevent disasters such as the Erika and Prestige shipwrecks from spoiling European coasts.
This legislation represents a major victory for Parliament, which successfully pushed for tougher rules despite strong resistance from the Council (EU national governments) during negotiations on the package.  The new rules provide for a range of measures including:
 
Permanent blacklisting of dangerous ships and tougher and more frequent inspections
 
Stricter insurance requirements for ship-owners and better compensation to passengers in the event of accidents
 
Mandatory compliance with international safety standards for ships flying a Member State flag
 
An independent authority to be set up in each Member State with the power to launch rescue operations and decide where to take ships in distress
 
Tougher ship inspection regimes and “blacklisting” rules
 
In the final version of the Port State Control Directive, more frequent inspections of ships entering a Member State's port or offshore anchorage were pushed through by Parliament, which was led by Dominique Vlasto (EPP-ED, FR) in the negotiations with Council.
 
High-risk ships will be inspected every six months and any ship that has been detained or issued with a “prevention of operation” order at least 3 times in a period of 3 years will be refused access, not only to ports but also to offshore anchorages throughout the EU.
 
The “refusal of access” order can be lifted after a period of three months only if the ship can prove it meets strict safety requirements. If a second refusal of access is issued, the waiting period will be increased to 12 months. If the ship continues to fail safety inspections, it will be permanently banned from any port or anchorage within the EU. Parliament obtained the permanent ban rule in spite of strong opposition from the Council in the negotiations.
 
Mandatory proof of insurance for ship-owners
 
The directive on the civil liability and financial guarantees of ship-owners requires Member States to obtain proof of insurance from ships flying their flag or entering their maritime territory. All ships must be insured at the amount of the maximum ceiling set by the Convention on the Liability for Maritime Claims (1996).
 
This legislation states that ships which do not provide proof of insurance are to be denied entry into any EU port until the situation is rectified.  Gilles Savary (PES, FR) was the MEP responsible for this report.
 
Compensation to passengers
 
Under a regulation harmonising the compensation to be awarded to passengers in case of accidents, carriers will have to pay up to €2,587 for lost or damaged luggage and up to €460,000 in the case of physical harm or death caused by fault or neglect. They will have to make advance payments in the event of death, permanent invalidity or serious injuries suffered by a passenger.
 
During the conciliation talks, MEPs led by rapporteur Paolo Costa (ALDE, IT) managed to extend the scope of the regulation to national maritime transport rather than just international traffic.  They also ensured it will apply not just to the largest category of ships (class A) but also to smaller (class B) vessels, the most widely used passenger ships in the EU.
 
For international carriage, the rules must be enforced by 2012.  For national traffic, however, Member States have the option to defer application: the rules must apply to class A ships by 2016 at the latest and to class B ships by 2018.  By mid-2013 the Commission must bring forward a proposal for bringing smaller ships (classes C and D) within the rules.  
 
Flag State obligations
 
EU-wide rules were also laid down to ensure that Member States effectively uphold their obligations as flag states, in accordance with the International Maritime Organisation's conventions on safety and the prevention of pollution. Member States must check that a ship complies with international rules and IMO conventions before authorising it to fly their flag.
 
The private organisations employed by Member States to carry out ship inspections (“classification societies”) will also be subject to a strict set of common rules and standards. Member States will be able to suspend classification societies' licences if they fail to meet these standards. Luis de Grandes Pascual (EPP-ED, ES) was Parliament's rapporteur for the directive and regulation on Ship Inspections and Emanuel Jardim Fernandes (PES, PT) was rapporteur on Flag State Obligations.
 
Independent authority to decide on rescue operations and place of refuge
 
Under the directive on Vessel Traffic Monitoring, Member States must designate a competent independent authority with the power to take decisions in the event of an accident or potentially dangerous situation. This should prevent precious time being lost in trying to reach agreement on matters such as where to take a ship in distress. 
 
The “competent authority” will take decisions on its own initiative, with the aim of protecting human lives, the coast and the maritime environment, as well as ensuring safety at sea and minimising economic damage. The authority may: restrict the movement of the ship or direct it to follow a specific course; give official notice to the master of the ship to put an end to the threat on the environment or maritime safety; send an evaluation team aboard to assess the damage; deploy rescue workers; and organise the towing of the ship.  Parliament's lead MEP on this directive was Dirk Sterckx (ALDE, BE).
 
Investigations into maritime accidents
 
Investigations into the causes of shipping accidents will be more frequent and carried out according to strict common guidelines. The MEP responsible for the Directive on Technical Independent Investigations Into Accidents at Sea, Jaromir Kohlicek (GUE/NGL, CZ), managed to uphold Parliament's position that investigations should not be limited to the worst accidents at sea. Preliminary assessments will be made of all potentially serious accidents to decide whether a full investigation is needed. These inquiries will in most cases be conducted by a single Member State.  And, thanks to MEPs, witnesses will get legal protection to avoid any discriminatory or retaliatory measures being taken against them.
 
A long legislative journey
 
Maritime safety has long been a priority of the European Parliament, which in 2002 set up a temporary committee on improving safety at sea following the Erika and Prestige oil-spills of 1999 and 2002 respectively. Under the previous two packages of maritime safety legislation (known as Erika I and Erika II), the EU adopted important maritime safety and security laws providing among other things for ship inspections in port, a ban on single-hull vessels to transport oil and the creation of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
 
The Commission put forward the Erika III package in November 2005. All through the legislative process, Parliament defended the highest safety standards possible for the maritime environment, coastal areas, and ship passengers and crew.  After three years of protracted negotiations with national transport ministers, MEPs secured an agreement last December during a conciliation meeting with Council representatives.