1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No2978/94
of21November1994
ontheimplementationofIMOResolutionA.747(18)ontheapplicationoftonnagemeasurementof
ballastspacesinsegregatedballastoiltankers
(OJ L 319, 12.12.1994, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 5 November 2002L 324 1 29.11.2002
▼B
COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No2978/94
of21November1994
ontheimplementationofIMOResolutionA.747(18)ontheapplica-
tionoftonnagemeasurementofballastspacesinsegregatedballast
oiltankers
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 84 (2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Hving regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of
the Treaty (3),
Whereasoperational and accidental pollution by s ea-going oil tankers
is still occurring and the transport of oil by tankers of conventional
oil tank design poses a continuous threat to the marine environment;
Whereasinternationally agreed rulesfor the des ign and operation of
environmentally-friendly oil tankers were established under theauspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO);
Whereasthe operation of environmentally-friendly oil tankersbenefits
both coastal States and the industry;
Whereasinternational conventionscontain requirementsfor the certifi-
cation of oil tankers; whereas the method of measuring the tonnage ofsegregated ballast tanks in oil tankers has been developed further bythe IMO;
Whereasall but one of the Member Stateshave ratified and imple-
mented the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollutionfrom Ships, 1973 and the Protocol of 1978 related thereto (Marpol 73/78); whereasall Member Stateshave ratified and implemented theInternational Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969;
Whereas Resolution A.722(17) adopted by the Assembly of IMO on 6
November 1991 and its successor, Resolution A.747(18) on the appli-
cation of tonnage measurement of segregated ballast tanks in oiltankers, adopted by the Assembly of IMO on 4 November 1993,express a general desire to encourage the design of environmentally-friendly tankers and the use of segregated ballast tanks in oil tankers;
Whereas in Resolution A.747(18) the IMO Assembly (i) invited
Governmentsto advis e the port and harbour authoritiesto apply its
recommendation of deducting the tonnage of the segregated ballasttanks when assessing fees based on the gross tonnage for all tankerswith segregated ballast capacity in accordance with Regulation 13 ofAnnex I of Marpol 73/78 and (ii) invited Governments also to advise
pilotage authoritiesto take action in accordance with the recommenda-
tion;
Whereasthe Council recognized the need for intens ified action, as
appropriate, at Community or national level to ensure an adequateresponse to the requirements of maritime safety and the prevention ofmarine pollution; whereas it is desirable to promote the use of double
hull oil tankersor oil tankersof an alternative des ign fulfilling the
requirementsof Regulation 13F of Annex I of Marpol 73/78 asamended on 6 March 1992, as well as segregated ballast oil tankers;1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 5, 7. 1. 1994, p. 4.
(2) OJ No C 295, 22. 10. 1994, p. 26.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 3 May 1994, Council common posi-
tion of 19 September 1994 (OJ No C 301, 27. 10. 1994, p. 34) and Decision
of the European Parliament of 16 November 1994 (not yet published in the
Official Journal).
▼B
Whereasdouble hull oil tankersand oil tankersof an alternative des ign
should be treated for the purpose of this Regulation as if their segre-gated ballast tanks complied with Regulation 13 of Annex I of Marpol
73/78;
Whereasit isinappropriate to penalize s hipownersand operatorsfor
using oil tankers which are environmentally-friendly in design andoperation;
Whereas, in particular, the charging of dues on the tonnage of segre-
gated ballast tanks of oil tankers, where those tanks are not used forthe carriage of cargo, constitutes a financial disadvantage for thosewho have taken an important step towards a cleaner environment;
Whereas, for economic reasons, individual harbour authorities are
reluctant to be placed at a disadvantage by being the only ones to
implement the IMO Resolution;
WhereasIMO Res olutionsA.722(17) and A.747(18) have been agreed,
but not implemented by all Member States;
Whereasfor the purpos e of protecting the marine environment from
pollution by oil tankers of a conventional design, there should beunified implementaion in the Community of internationally agreedrulesconcerning the charging of levieson oil tankersby port andharbour authoritiesand pilotage authorities ;
Whereas, in order to avoid distortion of competition within the
Community and to reach efficient and cost-effective solutions,
concerted action for unified implementation of the internationally
agreed rules, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, can bestbe established by means of a Regulation;
Whereas the flag State or other bodies issuing the International Oil
Pollution Prevention Certificate and the International Tonnage Certifi-cate (1969), aswell asthe s hipownersand pers onswho charge levieson oil tankers must work togehter in implementing IMO Resolution
A.747(18) in order to enhance protection of the marine environment;
Whereas systems have already been established in some Member States
for reducing levies on environmentally-friendly vessels on a basis other
than IMO Resolution A.747(18); whereas in accordance with the spiritof that Resolution, an alternative scheme for tonnage-based fees shouldbe provided for consisting in a percentage differential from the normaltariff, so that the average difference will be at least the same as that
which is envisaged by the Resolution; whereas it should furthermore
be ensured that segregated ballast oil tankers are always given no lessfavourable treatment even where feesare not caculated on the bas isoftonnage,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Port and harbour authoritiesand pilotage authoritieswithin the
Community shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation:
(a) implement within the Community IMO Resolution A.747(18) on
the application of tonnage measurements of segregated ballast tanksin oil tankers, adopted by the Assembly of the Intenational Mari-time Organization (IMO) on 4 November 1993, whose Annex iscontained in Annex I to thisRegulation, in order to encourage the
use of oil tankers with segregated ballast tanks, including double
hull oil tankersand oil tankersof an alternative des ign; or
(b) apply reduction schemes for levies charged on segregated ballast
oil tankers different from, but in the spirit of, IMO ResolutionA.747(18).1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 3
▼B
Article 2
ThisRegulation s hall apply to oil tankerswhich:
— can carry segregated ballast in specially appointed tanks,
— are designed, built adapted, equipped and operated as segregated
ballast oil tankers including double hull oil tankers and oil tankers
of an alternative design,
— meet the requirementsof the International Convention on Tonnage
Measurement of Ships 1969, and
— hold the International Tonnage Certificate, (1969).
Article 3
1. For the purpose of this Regulation:
(a) ‘oil tanker’ meansa s hip which complieswith the definition of an
oil tanker in Regulation 1 (4) of Annex I to Marpol 73/78;
(b) ‘segregated ballast’ means the ballast which complies with the defi-
nition of segregated ballast in Regulation 1 (17) in Annex I to
Marpol 73/78;
(c) ‘segregated ballast tank’ means a tank exclusively used for the
carriage of segregated ballast;
(d) ‘segreagated ballast oil tanker’ means an oil tanker provided with
segregated ballast tanks and certified by the government of the
flag State or by other bodiesentitled to do s o on itsbehalf asan
oil tanker provided with segregated ballast tanks. This compliancemust be clearly stated by such authority in the relevant paragraphof the supplement to the International Oil Pollution PreventionCertificate;
(e) ‘double hull oil tanker’ means a segregated ballast oil tanker built
in accordance with the requirementslaid down in Regulation 13F(3) of Annex I to Marpol 73/78;
(f) ‘oil tanker of an alternative design’ means a segregated ballast oil
tanker built in accordance with the requirementslaid down inRegulation 13 F (4) and (5) of Annex I to Marpol 73/78;
(g) ‘marpol 73/78’ meansthe International Convention for the Preven-
tion of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as amended by the Protocol of1978 relating thereto, in their up-to-date versions;
(h) ‘port and harbour authority’ isa public or private pers on which
charges fees to ships for providing facilities and services to ship-
ping;
(i) ‘pilotage authority’ isa public or private pers on entitled to render
pilotage services to shipping;
(j) ‘gross tonnage’ means the measure of the overall size of a ship
determined in accordance with the provisions of the International
Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969;
(k) ‘reduced gross tonnage’ is the gross tonnage of an oil tanker
arrived at when the gross tonnage of the segregated ballast tanks,
asdetermined in accordance with the formula given in paragraph
4 of Annex I to thisRegulation isdeducted from the entire gros stonnage of the vessel.
2. Annex II containsthe defintionsgiven by Marpol 73/78 to the
termsin paragraph 1 (a), (b), (e) and (f).
Article 4
When issuing the International Tonnage Certificate (1969) for a segre-
gated ballast oil tanker, which has been measured in accordance withthe rulesof the International Convention on Tonnage Meas urement ofShips, 1969, the competent body shall insert, for the purpose of this1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 4
▼M1
▼B
▼B
Regulation, under the heading ‘Remarks’ a statement conforming to
paragraph 3 of Annex I to thisRegulation and s pecifying:
(i) the tonnage of the segregated ballast tanks of the ship; this tonnage
shall be calculated in accordance with the method and the proce-dure set out in paragraph 4 of Annex I to this Regulation; and
(ii) the reduced gross tonnage of the vessel.
Article 5
1. When assessing fees for oil tankers fully or partly based on the
figure of gross tonnage (GT) of the vessel, port and harbour authoritiesand pilotage authorities shall exclude the tonnage of the segregated
ballast tanks of an oil tanker, so as to base their calculations on the
reduced gross tonnage indicated under the heading ‘Remarks’ of theInternational Tonnage Certificate (1969) of the vessel.
2. Alternatively, port and harbour authoritiesand pilotage authorities
shall ensure that the fee for an oil tanker falling within the scope ofthisRegulation asprovided for in Article 2 isat leas t 17 % lower
than the fee for a tanker without segregated ballast tanks of the same
gross tonnage.
Port and harbour authoritiesand pilotage authoritiesalready applying,
on 13 June 1994, a flat rate system as provided for in the first subpar-agraph, but based on a lower percentage, shall apply the figure of 17 %asa minimum not later than 1 January 1997.
3. Where the fees are assessed other than on the basis of gross
tonnage, port and harbour authoritiesaswell aspilotage authoritiesshall ensure that segregated ballast oil tankers receive treatment noless favourable than when fees are calculated in accordance with para-graphs1 or 2.
4. Port and harbour authoritiesand pilotage authoritiess hall apply,
for all segregated ballast oil tankers, only one of the systems mentioned
in paragraphs1, 2 and 3.
Article 6
Annex I to thisRegulation may be amended in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 7 in order to take into account amend-mentsto Res olution A.747(18) of the IMO and to relevant internationalConventionswhich have entered into force.
The amendmentsto the international ins trumentsreferred to in Article
3 may be excluded from the scope of this Regulation, pursuant toArticle 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002 of the European Parliamentand of the Council of 5 November 2002 establishing a Committee onSafe Seasand the Prevention of Pollution from Ships(COSS) (
1).
Article 7
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on Safe Seas
and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships(COSS) created by Article
3 of Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002.
2. Where reference ismade to thisparagraph, Articles5 and 7 of
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the proce-duresfor the exercis e of implementing powersconferred on theCommission (
2) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article
8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 324, 29.11.2002, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.▼M1
▼B
Article 8
1. Member Statess hall, in due time, but before 31 December 1995,
adopt such laws, regulations or adminstrative provisions as may be
necessary for the implementation of this Regulation.
Such measures shall cover, inter alia , the organization, procedure and
meansof control.
2. The Member States shall send to the Commission annually all
available information concerning the application of thisRegulation,including breachescommitted by their port and harbour authoritiesand pilotage authorities.
3. When Member Statesadopt meas uresasreferred to in paragraph
1, they shall contain a reference to this Regulation or shall be accom-
panied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication.
The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by MemberStates.
4. The Member Statess hall immediately communicate to the
Commission all provisions of domestic law which they adopt in thefield governed by this Regulation. The Commission shall inform the
other Member Statesthereof.
Article 9
1. The Commission shall review the implementation of this Regula-
tion annually after receiving reportsfrom Member Statesaspres cribed
in Article 8.
2. The Commission shall present an evaluation report on the opera-
tion of the system as provided for in Article 5 (2) to the EuropeanParliament and the Council by 31 December 1998.
Article 10
ThisRegulation s hall into force on 1 January 1996.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 6
▼B
ANNEX I
Tonnagemeasurementofsegregatedballasttanksinoiltankers
In order to use a unified base for the application of tonnage measurement of
segregated ballast tanks in oil tankers, administrations, bodies recognized to
issue international certificates and persons who charge levies on oil tankers shall
accept the following principles:
1. The ship is certified as a segregated ballast oil tanker as stated in paragraph 5
of the supplement to the International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate
and the location of the segregated ballast tanks is indicated under paragraph
5.2 of the supplement.
2. Segregated ballast tanks are those tanks exclusively used for the carriage of
segregated water ballast, as defined in Regulation 1 (17) of Annex I of
Marpol 73/78. The segregated ballast tanks should have a separate ballast
pumping and piping system arranged for the intake and discharge of ballast
water from and to the sea only. There should be no piping connections from
segregated ballast tanks to the fresh water system. No segregated ballast tank
should be used for the carriage of any cargo or for storage of ship's stores or
material.
3. In the International Tonnage Certificate (1969) under ‘Remarks’ an entry is
made for the tonnage of segregated ballast tanks in oil tankers as follows:
‘The segregated ballast tanks comply with Regulation 13 of Annex I of the
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as
modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, and the total tonnage of
such tanks exclusively used for the carriage of segregated water ballast is….
The reduced gross tonnage which should be used for the calculation of
tonnage based fees is ….’
4. The tonnage of segregated ballast tanks mentioned above shall be calculated
according to the following formula:
K1×Vb
where:K
1= 0,2 + 0,02 log10V (or astabulated in Appendix 2 of the International
Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969).
V = the total volume of all enclosed spaces of the ship in cubic metres as
defined in Regulation 3 of the International Convention on Tonnage
Measurement of Ships, 1969.
Vb= the total volume of segregated ballast tanks in cubic metres measured
in accordance with Regulation 6 of the International Convention on
Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969.1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 7
▼B
ANNEX II
Definitions given by Marpol 73/78 to the terms in Article 3 (1) (a), (b), (e)
and(f)
Re paragraph 1 (a):
‘Oil tankers’ means a ship constructed or adapted primarily to carry oil in bulk
in itscargo s pacesand includescombination carriersand any ‘chemical tanker’
asdefined in Annex II of the pres ent Convention, when it iscarrying a cargo or
part cargo of oil in bulk.
‘Combination carrier’ means a ship designed to carry either oil or solid cargoes
in bulk.
‘Chemical tanker’ means a ship constructed or adapted primarily to carry a
cargo of noxious liquid substances in bulk and includes an ‘oil tanker’ as
defined in Annex I of the present Convention when carrying a cargo or part
cargo of noxious liquid substances in bulk.
Re paragraph 1 (b):
‘Segregated ballast’ means the ballast water introduced into a tank which is
completely separated from the cargo oil and oil fuel system and which is perma-
nently allocated to the carriage of ballast or to the carriage of ballast or cargoes
other than oil or noxious substances as variously defined in the Annexes of the
present Convention.
Re paragraph 1 (e):
‘Double hull oil tanker’ meansan oil tanker of which the entire cargo tank
length shall be protected by ballast tanks or spaces other than cargo and fuel
oil tanks.
Re paragraph 1 (f):
‘Oil tanker of an alternative design’ means:
— an oil tanker, the design of which is such that the cargo and vapour pressure
exerted on the bottom shell plating forming a single boundary between the
cargo and the sea does not exceed the external hydrostatic water pressure,
— an oil tanker which is designed according to methods that ensure at least the
same level of protection against oil pollution in the event of collision or
stranding and are approved in principle by the Marine Environment Protec-
tion Committee based on guidelines developed by the International Maritime
Organization.1994R2978 — EN — 19.12.2002 — 001.001 — 8