WRITTEN QUESTION P-0408/03

by Ari Vatanen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 February 2003)

Subject: Oil transport in the Baltic

This winter the tanker Stemnitsa, which sails under the Greek flag and which is not reinforced so as to resist ice pressure, has, inter alia, collected a cargo of 110 000 tons of crude oil from Primorsk, Russia, at a time when ice conditions were difficult. The Finnish authorities contacted the Russian authorities about this, but without result.

The Stemnitsa's ice vessel classification permits it to sail on condition that the thickness of the ice does not exceed 40 centimetres, because it has a strengthened bow. The classification bureau ABS was also responsible for classifying the oil tanker Prestige, which was wrecked off the coast of Spain. According to a Finnish insurance expert, however, the classification bureau has no knowledge of ice conditions in the Gulf of Finland. Despite the strengthening of its bow against ice, the Stemnitsa is designed to operate in summer conditions. Its outer hull is thinner than that of single-hulled vessels and can be crushed more easily. Under heavy pressure, the inner hull is of no avail, either.

Finland has the capacity to deal with an accident involving around 10 000 tons of oil, so if this vessel were to go aground it would be a major disaster. An accident similar to that involving the Prestige would have a massive impact in comparison with the impact of the Prestige's cargo on the coast of Spain. The volume of water in the Atlantic is of quite a different order to that in the Gulf of Finland, whose mean depth is only 30 m.

The Finnish State cannot do anything about the vessel's movements, and Russia can issue any ice pass it wishes for operations in its own waters. But if the classification bureau were to withdraw the vessel's ice classification, the insurance company would refuse to pay for any ice damage.

Soon the Baltic will be virtually an internal sea of the EU. On behalf of concerned members of the public, I should like to know what urgent action the Commission intends to take to avert any oil damage. How will the ice classification of vessels be taken into account in EU legislation?

Joint answerto Written Questions E-0384/03, P-0408/03, E-0410/03 and E-0420/03given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2003)

The Commission is aware of the problem of navigation in the Gulf of Finland and shares the concern of the Finnish authorities about the risks connected with the transport of hydrocarbons by sea under winter conditions.

The Commission has closely monitored the situation brought about by the voyage of the oil tanker Stemnitsa to the Primorski terminal. It has informed the Russian authorities of its concern about the exceptionally difficult ice conditions in the Gulf of Finland.

Following the ERIKA and Prestige disasters, the Commission has repeatedly highlighted the urgent need for harmonised measures to prevent new disasters in the Union's external waters, including the Baltic. Under the agreement between the Union and Russia, contacts have been established with the Russian authorities to ensure compliance with the measures which the EU intends to take to secure the transport of hydrocarbons by sea, and in particular to ban the transport of heavy fuel by single-hull tankers.

However, it should be noted that the Union does not have any legal authority to regulate the passage through international waters of vessels carrying potentially dangerous cargo, even near the coast of the Member States and even if such cargo is carried under the icy conditions prevailing in the Baltic in winter.

Accordingly, the Commission deems it necessary to amend the international law of the sea so as to ensure a better balance between freedom of movement and the interests of coastal States who should be able to protect their coast against ecological disasters.

The Commission has asked all of the Union's neighbouring countries as well as its main partners to take firmer action to improve the international legal rules governing pollution caused by ships. It has asked all Member States for their support to actively promote within the United Nations, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and other competent bodies the adaptation of the provisions of the law of the sea to the new maritime safety requirements in the 21st century.

Finally, the Commission should like to point out that newspaper reports do not necessarily represent the Commission's position nor, as in the present case, that of the Executive Director of the Maritime Safety Agency.

As for the specific question of navigation under icy conditions, it should be noted that there are currently no Community rules dealing with this and that such rules could not cover vessels on transit journeys not calling at the Union's ports. However, in the framework of measures already taken by the Union to prevent oil tanker accidents, the Directive on monitoring and controlling maritime traffic enables the competent authorities to prevent ships from leaving port in very poor weather conditions. The Directive also gives wider powers to the Member States to intervene when there is a risk of accident or pollution.

In any case, the Commission is ready to fully support the efforts of the Finnish authorities to work towards an agreement with the countries around the Gulf of Finland on safety rules for the maritime transport of hydrocarbons under icy conditions.