2.2.2017   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 34/167

Rapporteur:

Tomas ABRAHAMSSON

1.1.

The EESC welcomes in general the Commission’s proposal for amending Directive 2009/45/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger ships. As the fitness report (REFIT, Adjusting Course: EU Passenger Ship Safety Legislation Fitness Check, COM(2015) 508 final) identifies, Directive 2009/45/EC in some parts lacks clarity in a number of definitions and requirements and has outdated or overlapping requirements, which has led to the inconsistent implementation of the legal framework for passenger ships. The amendments proposed aim to simplify the legislation, remove overlaps and redundancies, and clarify requirements and the scope of application, while preserving the current level of safety.

1.2.

Given that 120 million people are transported by domestic passenger ships every year, the EU legislation on passenger ship safety is very important. However, the proposal for amending Directive 2009/45/EC excludes all small ships below 24 meters from the scope of the directive, while at present, only existing passenger ships are excluded, not new ones.

1.3.

The rationale given for this proposal is, firstly, that Directive 2009/45/EC currently only applies to 70 out of 1 950 small ships and, secondly, the principle of subsidiarity: these ships are constructed for a wide range of services and establishing a common set of rules will be extremely challenging. As such, Member States would be in a better position to regulate.

1.4.

The EESC notes the abovementioned rationale, but recommends that the application to new ships below 24 meters in length be retained in the interests of passenger safety.

1.5.

The proposal for amending Directive 2009/45/EC clarifies that, for the purpose of this directive, aluminium is a material equivalent to steel and the corresponding fire safety standards are therefore applicable. At present, not all Member States certify aluminium ships under this directive, which creates an uneven situation. The EESC welcomes this clarification.

1.6.

The EESC warmly welcomes the importance that the current EU rules on passenger ship safety attach to accessibility for persons with reduced mobility (paragraph 17 of the recitals to Directive 2009/45/EC EC) and expresses its satisfaction with the fact that EU standards represent an important added value when compared to international standards, which do not include any mandatory provision in this regard. The EESC highly commends this provision and believes this should apply to all kinds of domestic passenger service ships.

1.7.

The EESC welcomes the Commission’s clarification made in new point (za). This point clarifies that ‘equivalent material’ means aluminium alloy or any other non-combustible material that maintains structural and integrity properties equivalent to steel at the end of the applicable exposure to the standard fire test due to the insulation provided. As some Member States have not been certifying aluminium ships under this directive, the EESC welcomes this clarification in principle. However, the EESC recommends that the corresponding technical standard included in the Annex to Directive 2009/45/EC be further clarified in cooperation with national experts.

2.1.

Europe’s geographical configuration as a vast peninsula gives an indication of how crucial maritime transport services, including the carriage of passengers, are. More than 400 million people pass through EU ports every year, out of which 120 million are transported by domestic passenger ships. Hence the importance of ensuring the highest safety standards in EU waters, given that ship safety legislation has considerable implications, notably for the environment, labour law, the mobility of EU citizens and the facilitation of trade in passenger vessels, since the latter meet the same standards across the EU.

2.2.

Following the Estonia disaster, the International Maritime Organization adopted a series of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), including requirements to improve the stability of ro-ro ships when they are damaged.

2.3.

However, incidents continue to occur, which has led Europe in the last two decades to introduce further rules for passenger ship safety, including some specific rules, such as the register of persons on board, alongside SOLAS on international journeys, which also cover journeys between two or more Member States, as well as many more EU rules for national journeys.

2.4.

The proposals flow from the REFIT programme being carried out by the Commission in respect of this legislation on passenger ship safety. The abbreviation REFIT stands for Regulatory Fitness and Performance.

2.5.

The aim was to simplify and streamline where possible existing European rules on passenger ship safety so as to:

2.6.

This coherent package of proposals serves to achieve these objectives. The package on passenger ship safety includes proposals for reviewing nearly all European safety regulations on passenger ships, excluding of course the purely technical Directive 2003/25/EC on specific stability requirements for ro-ro passenger ships.

2.7.

The package comprises the following 3 proposals:

2.8.

It is this first proposal that is the focus of this opinion.

2.9.

Directive 2009/45/EC, dated 6 May 2009 is a recast of Directive 98/18/EC, which had to be repealed in the interests of clarity. It introduces a uniform level of safety for passenger ships undertaking domestic voyages. However, after 15 years, the Commission deemed it necessary to review this directive after having concluded a fitness check that pointed out the need — strongly endorsed by the EESC — to simplify and clarify the current requirements.

2.10.

The EESC has actively participated in the area of maritime safety legislation by producing several opinions. On the particular issue of the safety of passenger ships, it is worth noting that on 29 May 1996, the Committee delivered an opinion on Safety rules and standards for passenger ships (1), followed on 11 December 2002 by a Committee opinion on The specific stability requirements for Ro-Ro Passenger Ships, and on a revision of Directive 98/18/EC on Safety Rules and Standards for Passenger Ships. Furthermore, it should be noted that more recently, on 16 January 2008, the Committee unreservedly endorsed the proposal on the abovementioned recast of Directive 98/18/EC.

2.11.

In light of the significance of the review exercise carried out by the Commission today, the EESC wishes to demonstrate the great importance it attaches to the continued improvement in the safety of passenger ships involved in domestic trade.

3.1.

Directive 2009/45/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger ships applies to ships made of steel and equivalent material, and to high-speed craft, irrespective of their length. Implemented at EU level and applying to domestic voyages only, this directive establishes technical requirements for vessel construction, stability, fire protection and life-saving equipment based both on the provisions of the SOLAS Convention (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended) and on some requirements driven by a number of shipping casualties involving loss of human lives, hence the need to address the somewhat fragmented nature of the legislation.

3.2.

Following a fitness check carried out in the spirit of the REFIT (European Commission’s Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme) and Better Regulation agenda, the Commission came to the conclusion that there was scope for further enhancing the level of safety, efficiency and proportionality afforded by the abovementioned directive. The suggested review therefore aimed at simplifying and streamlining the existing regulatory framework which, although meeting its objectives and remaining highly relevant, needs to eliminate some outdated, ambiguous or overlapping requirements and definitions.

3.3.

The Commission is suggesting a limited number of changes to the current directive in the following areas:

3.4.

Furthermore, the REFIT report recommends developing guidelines or standards for small vessels and vessels built in non-steel or equivalent materials, based on functional requirements as part of a goal-based standard framework.

3.5.

Finally, it is worth noting that the Commission proposal seeks to preserve the current common level of safety established by Directive 2009/45/EC for ships operating on domestic voyages within EU waters, which facilitates the transfer of ships between national registers and allows competition in domestic voyages to take place on an equal footing.

4.1.

The EESC notes that the fitness check applied to the EU safety rules and standards for passenger ships may well have been affected by the lack of data and therefore asks for better data collection and monitoring systems in future, in order to make EU post-implementation assessments more robust.

4.2.

Despite noting the rationale behind the exclusion of small ships (below 24 meters in length) from the scope of the directive, the EESC believes that the application to new vessels below 24 meters in length should be retained.

4.3.

In the REFIT report, as well as in paragraph 17 of the recitals to Directive 2009/45/EC, it is noted that EU standards provide for access to passenger ferry services in domestic trade for persons with reduced mobility, an element which is recommended but not mandatory in international standards. The EESC highly commends this requirement and believes this should apply to all kinds of domestic passenger service ships.

4.4.

The EESC also believes that it is essential that all passengers on board ships be informed about details concerning safety on board the vessel. It is of vital importance to ensure that these details are also available to persons with a disability.

5.1.1.

Point (h) — The definition of a ‘new ship’ as a ship, the keel of which was laid or which was at a similar stage of construction on or after 1 July 1998 is outdated; however, no change has been proposed.

5.1.2.

Point (u) — The change from ‘host state’ to ‘port state’ is not explained. The EESC recommends that the Commission provide an explanation for this change of terminology and possible change of substance.

Furthermore, the directive seems in this point not to draw any distinction between EU-flags and non-EU flags, which may have relevance, as the vessels in question are performing maritime cabotage (Council Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92 of 7 December 1992 applying the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage).

5.1.3.

New point (za) — This point clarifies that ‘equivalent material’ means aluminium alloy or any other non-combustible material that maintains structural and integrity properties equivalent to steel at the end of the applicable exposure to the standard fire test due to the insulation provided. As some Member States have not been certifying aluminium ships under this directive, the EESC welcomes this clarification in principle. However, the EESC recommends that the corresponding technical standard included in the Annex to Directive 2009/45/EC be further clarified in cooperation with national experts.

Finally, the EESC believes that the new definition of ‘equivalent material’, especially the reference to ‘any other non-combustible material’, may be confusing as it does not adequately specify which type of material a material must be equivalent to in order to fall under the scope of the amended directive.

5.1.4.

New point (zd) — The proposed definition of ‘pleasure yacht/craft’ reads ‘a vessel carrying no cargo and not more than 12 passengers not engaged in trade regardless of the means of propulsion’. The EESC believes that, for the sake of clarity, the present wording ‘passengers for commercial purposes’ should be retained.

5.2.1.

Paragraph 1, point (a) — [This Directive applies to] ‘new and existing passenger ships of 24 meters in length and above’. The proposal for amending Directive 2009/45/EC thus excludes all small ships, while the present regulation only excludes existing ships, not ‘new’ ships below 24 meters in length. See 5.1.1 above for the definition of ‘new ship’.

5.2.2.

The rationale given for the exclusion is that Directive 2009/45/EC currently applies only to 70 out of 1 950 small ships.

5.2.3.

Another rationale given for the proposed exclusion is the principle of subsidiarity on the grounds that, as these ships are constructed for a wide range of services and establishing common set of rules will be extremely challenging, Member States would therefore be in a better position to regulate.

5.2.4.

The EESC struggles to understand these arguments. If 96 % of the fleet of smaller ships are not covered by the directive as they are built from materials other than steel or equivalents or are ships operating exclusively in port areas etc., then exempting vessels below 24 meters is of no benefit to these ships. However, what about the other 4 %?

5.2.5.

If harmonised rules are not suitable for certain ships below 24 meters, then Member States are already free to allow exemptions under Article 9 of the directive. However, if the proposal for amending the directive on this point is accepted, there will be some ships measuring up to 24 meters in length that will no longer be covered by the directive.

5.2.6.

A 24 meter passenger ship is not necessarily an insignificant vessel as it could accommodate up to 250 passengers on board. It could be argued that passengers should have the same right to safety regardless of whether their ship measures 23,9 meters or 24,1 meters in length. For these reasons, the EESC believes that the application to new ships below 24 meters in length should be retained and that Member States can continue to allow exemptions if they see fit.

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replace term ‘survey’ by ‘inspection’ under Article 5, and

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make a clear reference under Article 5 to the inspection requirements under the proposed new Directive (COM(2016)371 final) repealing Directive 1999/35/EC.