EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2024) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
on harmonised technical specifications and testing standards for fire hoses  
(Text with EEA relevance)    
EN 1  EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
Marine equipment directive  
The objective of the Directive 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
23 July 2014 on marine equipment and repealing Council Directive 96/98/EC (hereafter 
called ‘the Directive’)  is to enhance safety at sea and to prevent marine pollution through the 
uniform application of the relevant international instruments relating to marine eq uipment to 
be placed on board EU ships, and to ensure the free movement of such equipment within the 
Union.  
In accordance with article 35(2) of the Directive , the Commission shall:  
‘Indicate  by means of implementing acts the respective design, construction and 
performance requirements and the testing standards provided for in the international 
instruments ’. 
In accordance with article 8 of the Directive:  
‘In the absence of an international sta ndard for a specific item of marine equipment, 
in exceptional circumstances where duly justified by an appropriate analysis and in 
order to remove a serious and unacceptable threat to maritime safety, to health or to 
the environment and taking into account  any ongoing work at IMO level, the 
Commission shall be empowered to adopt, by means of delegated acts in accordance 
with Article 37, harmonised technical specifications and testing standards for that 
specific item of marine equipment ’. 
Analysis  
Testing st andards  
Equipment falling under the scope of the Directive is identified by means of an Implementing 
Regulation adopted in accordance with Article 35(2)  of the Directive . The Implementing 
Regulation lists testing standard s as defined in Article 2 (4) of the  Directive  that have been 
developed  by the IMO, ISO, IEC, CEN/Cenelec, ITU or ETSI . 
Lay flat fire -fighting hoses  
A lay flat hose is a hose with a soft wall which, when unpressurized internally, collapses to 
such an extent that the inner faces of the inside diameter make contact and the hose takes up a 
flat cross -sectional appearance. The current Implementing Regulati on contains a test standard 
for lay flat fire -fighting hoses (EN 14540:201 4). This standard specifies the requirements and 
test methods for non -percolating lay  flat firefighting hoses  intended for use at a maximum 
working pressure of 1,5 MPa over a range o f inside diameters from 2 5 mm  to 52 mm . 
Fire h oses with internal diameter s greater than 5 2 mm  are currently not included in the 
Implementing Regulation as there is no suitable test ing standard  as defined under Article 2(4) 
of the Directive . This means that  such hoses cannot be conformity assessed and ‘wheel 
marked ’ in accordance with the Directive . 
On-going work by IMO, CEN CENELEC,  and ISO  
Currently, t here is no on-going work by IMO , ISO or CEN /Cenelec  to develop testing 
standards for lay flat firefighting hoses with an inside diameter greater than 5 2 mm. 
In order to also have a testing standard for fire hoses with an in side diameter of greater than 
52 mm , the Commission issued a standardisation request to CEN  CENELEC  (C (2017) 8343  
EN 2  EN final) in 2017. CEN  CENELEC  were unable to fulfil this request, as there were insufficient 
experts proposed by the national Standardisation Organisations to work on the request.  
The development of a ship fire -fighting hoses standard was also discussed in ISO/TC 8/SC 
1/WG 3 (22 May 2019), which concluded : 
‘WG3 noted that each maritime Administration, under SOLAS, has (its) own method 
of type approval using their national standards ’ and therefore work item ‘ISO/PWI 
22844 ed.1 - id.74036 Ships and marine technology  – Fire hoses on board ships ’ was 
discontinued.  
Issues identified  
The implementation of the Directive is supported by a Member State expert group , a group of 
Notified Bodies  (MarED  and a group of market surveillance authorities  (Adco) . There have 
been several cases where a market surveillance authority ha s identified fire hoses with internal 
diameters of greater than 5 2 mm  that have been incorrectly provided with conformity 
assessme nt certificates issued by notified bodies. Moreover, some of the larger non-
percolating lay flat firefighting  hoses have been placed on board EU ships  that have not been 
conformity assessed and are not subject to market surveillance as there are no appropr iate 
testing standards.  
The lack of harmonisation leads to varying levels of safety of products onboard EU ships  
potentially lead ing to the failure of such products while in use  onboard EU ships . In addition, 
the testing standard for lay flat fire -fighting  hoses (EN 14540:201 4) does not contain an 
abrasion test which potentially could lead to the early failure of such products when used on 
board EU ships . This potentially creat es a serious and unacceptable risk to maritime health 
and safety . 
Approval  of equ ipment not listed in the Implementing Regulation  
Items of equipment that are not within the scope of the implementing regulation may still be 
required to be approved by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 
(SOLAS) by an individual Member State for use onboard ships on their flag. This is 
problematic because of the absence of appropriate testing standards , as explained above , and 
creates a n administrat ive burden for Member States . SOLAS requires fire hoses to be 
approved by the Administratio n (1) although the regulation contains no details of the testing 
requirements . 
Equipment not fully defined for inclusion in the Implementing Regulation  
Section  9 of the Implementing Regulation  contains a list of marine equipment for which the 
set of standards for certification are not complete . Non-percolating l ay flat f irefighting hoses  
with an in side diameter of greater than 52 mm have been listed in section 9 since 2014 . 
Proposed delegated regulation  
Testing Standard  
In the absence of relevant international testing standard,  the European Commission is 
proposing a Delegated Act in accordance with Article 8 of the Directive. The act will set o ut 
the testing standard s for all non-percolating lay flat fire -fighting hoses , including those  with 
an in side diameter of greater than 52 mm. The Commission ’s proposal refers to two national 
standards: DIN 14811 (January 2008) and NF S 61 -112 (June 2019) . 
Abrasion testing  
 
1 Ref: SOLAS, Chapter II -2, Reg 10.2.3.1.   
EN 3  EN While carrying out background research for this proposal , it was noted that the current EN 
standard for non -percolating firefighting hoses from 25  mm to 5 2 mm  contains no 
requirement fo r abrasion testing  unlike other national testing standards . The use of firefighting  
hoses on board ships can lead to abrasion of hoses. The Commission’s proposal therefore 
introduces abrasion resistance  testing  in accordance with DIN 14811 (January 2008) a nd NF S 
61-112 (June 2019) . 
Update Implementing Regulation  
Following adoption of the Delegated Act, an Implementing Regulation  laying down rules for 
the application of Directive 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as 
regards design, construction and performance requirements and testing standards for marine 
equipment will refer to the delegated act and will th us enable the respective products to be 
conformity assessed in accordance with Directive 2014/90/EU and appropriately marked . The 
Implementing Regulation will make the abrasion testing of non -percolating lay flat 
firefighting hoses with an inside diameter from 2 5 mm  to 52 mm  optional for manufacturers 
of such products.  
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
Stakeholders were consulted in the framework of a meeting of the Marine Equipment Expert 
Group ( Group E02653 in the Commission’s Register of Expert Groups ), which comprises the 
Member State s, competent authorities  and stakeholders , on 25 May 2023.  An open public 
consultation  took place on the Commission’s ‘Have your say’ website from 27 November 
until 25 December 2023.  During the latter consult ation several stakeholders suggested that 
coated and covered hoses, for which there is no international or EN standard, and which 
therefore can currently not be approved for use on EU ships, should also be  taken into account  
in the draft as they offer higher degrees of external protection with greater abrasion resistance 
than that of non-coated /covered  hoses.  The Commission services have accepted the se 
comments and amended  the draft Delegated Act  accordingly. The Marine Equip ment Expert 
Group  members have been re -consulted by written procedure.  
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
This Delegated Act introduces harmonised technical specification and testing standards f or all 
non-percolating lay-flat firefighting hoses with an  inside diameter greater than 25 mm in 
accordance with the provisions of Article 8.2 of Directive 2014/90/EU.   
EN 4  EN COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
on harmonised technical specifications and testing standards for fire hoses  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union , 
Having regard to Directive 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council  of 23 
July 2014 on marine equipment and repealing Council Directive 96/98/EC2, and , in particular , 
Article 8(2) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) The uniform application of international testing standards and procedures for the 
approval of marine equipment is ensured by  Directive 2014/90/EU.  
(2) Marine equipment  to be placed on EU ships is to meet the requirements of Directive 
2014/90/EU, in  accordance with  implementing acts adopted pursuant to  Article 35(2)  
of that Directive, indicat ing the respective design, construction and performance 
requirements and the testing standards provided for in the international instruments  
regarding such marine equipment . 
(3) For safety reasons, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS ) 
requires the carriage and approval of fire hoses on board of ships.  
(4) Currently there are n o international standards for the technical specification and testing  
of non-percolating lay-flat firefighting  hoses with a n inside  diameter greater  than 52 
mm and t herefore such hoses are not covered by Union legislation  in force .  The 
absence of international s tandards  means that  such hoses cannot be conformity 
assessed and approved for use on board of EU ships  in accordance with Directive 
2014/90/EU . The lack of harmonisation leads to varying levels of safety of products 
onboard EU ships , potentially lead ing to the failure of such products while in use , 
which is creating a serious and unacceptable risk to maritime health and safety , and an 
administrative burden fo r Member States .  
(5) There are also no international standards for  testing the abrasion resistance  of non -
percolating lay-flat fire fighting hoses with an inside diameter between  25 mm  and 52 
mm and therefore  such standards  are not covered by Union legislation  in force . In the 
absence of international standards, such hoses cannot be conformity assessed as 
regards  abrasion resistance in accordance with Directive 2014/90/EU. The lack of 
harmonisation for abrasion tests leads to potential early failure of such pro ducts when 
used on board EU flagged ships, which is creating a serious and unacceptable risk to 
maritime health and safety.  
(6) Therefore, harmonised technical specifications and testing standards  for all non-
percolating lay-flat f irefighting  hoses with an ins ide diameter greater  than 25 mm 
 
2 OJ L 257, 28.8.2014 , p. 146, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/90/oj .  
EN 5  EN should be established . Those specifications and testing standards  should remain 
applicable until the international instruments have been amended to incorporate 
appropriate testing standard s for such hoses , 
HAS ADOPTED THIS R EGULATION:  
Article 1  
The technical specifications and testing standards set out in the Annex shall apply to non-
percolating lay flat firefighting hoses with an inside diameter greater than 25 mm. 
Article 2  
This Regulation shall enter into force on the  twentieth  day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
For the Commission  
The President