1994R2978 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 1
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►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
►M2Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 September 2003L 284 1 31.10.2003
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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
inparticular 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),
Whereas operational and accidental pollution by sea-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;
Whereas internationally agreed rules for the design and operation of
environmentally-friendly oil tankers were established under theauspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO);
Whereas the operation of environmentally-friendly oil tankers benefits
both coastal States and the industry;
Whereas international conventions contain requirements for 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;
Whereas all but one of the Member States have ratified and imple-
mented the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollutionfrom Ships, 1973 and the Protocol of 1978 related thereto (Marpol 73/78); whereas all Member States have ratified and implemented theInternational Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969;
Whereas ResolutionA.722(17) adopted by the Assembly of IMO on6
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 inResolutionA.747(18) the IMO Assembly (i) in vited
Governments to advise the port and harbour authorities to 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 inaccordan ce with Regulation13 ofAnnex I of Marpol 73/78 and (ii) invited Governments also to advise
pilotage authorities to take action in accordance with the recommenda-
tion;
Whereas the Council recognized the need for intensified 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 tankers or oil tankers of an alternative design fulfilling the
requirements of Regulation 13F of Annex I of Marpol 73/78 asamended on 6 March 1992, as well as segregated ballast oil tankers;1994R2978 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 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-
tionof 19 September 1994 (OJ No C 301, 27. 10. 1994, p. 34) an d Decision
of the European Parliament of 16 November 1994 (not yet published in the
Official Journal).
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Whereas double hull oil tankers and oil tankers of an alternative design
should be treated for the purpose of this Regulationas if their segre-gated ballast tanks complied with Regulation 13 of Annex I of Marpol
73/78;
Whereas it is inappropriate to penalize shipowners and operators for
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;
Whereas IMO Resolutions A.722(17) and A.747(18) have been agreed,
but not implemented by all Member States;
Whereas for the purpose of protecting the marine environment from
pollution by oil tankers of a conventional design, there should beunified implementaion in the Community of internationally agreedrules concerning the charging of levies on oil tankers by port andharbour authorities and pilotage authorities;
Whereas, inorder to avoid distortionof competitionwithinthe
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), as well as the shipowners and persons who 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 beenestablished insome Member States
for reducing levies on environmentally-friendly vessels on a basis other
thanIMO ResolutionA.747(18); whereas inaccordan ce 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 fees are not caculated on the basis oftonnage,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Port and harbour authorities and pilotage authorities within 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 this Regulation, in order to encourage the
use of oil tankers with segregated ballast tanks, including double
hull oil tankers and oil tankers of an alternative design; or
(b) apply reductionschemes for levies charged onsegregated ballast
oil tankers different from, but in the spirit of, IMO ResolutionA.747(18).1994R2978 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 3
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Article 2
This Regulationshall apply to oil tan kers which:
— 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 requirements of 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’ means a ship which complies with 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 bodies entitled to do so on its behalf as an
oil tanker provided with segregated ballast tanks. This compliancemust be clearly stated by such authority inthe relevan t 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 requirements laid 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 requirements laid down inRegulation 13 F (4) and (5) of Annex I to Marpol 73/78;
(g) ‘marpol 73/78’ means the International Convention for the Preven-
tionof Pollutionfrom Ships, 1973, as amen ded by the Protocol of1978 relating thereto, in their up-to-date versions;
(h) ‘port and harbour authority’ is a public or private person which
charges fees to ships for providing facilities and services to ship-
ping;
(i) ‘pilotage authority’ is a public or private person 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,
as determined in accordance with the formula given in paragraph
4 of Annex I to this Regulation is deducted from the entire grosstonnage of the vessel.
2. Annex II contains the defintions given by Marpol 73/78 to the
terms inparagraph 1 (a), (b), (e) an d (f).
Article 4
When issuing the International Tonnage Certificate (1969) for a segre-
gated ballast oil tanker, which has been measured in accordance withthe rules of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement ofShips, 1969, the competent body shall insert, for the purpose of this1994R2978 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 4
▼M1
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Regulation, under the heading ‘Remarks’ a statement conforming to
paragraph 3 of Annex I to this Regulation and specifying:
(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 segregatedballast tanks of an oil tanker, so as to base their calculations on thereduced gross tonnage indicated under the heading ‘Remarks’ of theInternational Tonnage Certificate (1969) of the vessel.
2. Alternatively, port and harbour authorities and pilotage authorities
shall ensure that the fee for an oil tanker falling within the scope ofthis Regulationas provided for inArticle 2 is at least 17 % lowerthan the fee for a tanker without segregated ballast tanks of the samegross tonnage.
Port and harbour authorities and pilotage authorities already applying,
on13 Jun e 1994, a flat rate system as provided for inthe first subpar-agraph, but based ona lower percen tage, shall apply the figure of 17 %as a minimum not later than 1 January 1997.
3. Where the fees are assessed other thanonthe basis of gross
tonnage, port and harbour authorities as well as pilotage authorities
shall ensure that segregated ballast oil tankers receive treatment noless favourable thanwhenfees are calculated inaccordan ce with para-graphs 1 or 2.
4. Port and harbour authorities and pilotage authorities shall apply,
for all segregated ballast oil tankers, only one of the systems mentioned
inparagraphs 1, 2 an d 3.
Article 6
Annex I to this Regulation may be amended in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 7 in order to take into account amend-ments to Resolution A.747(18) of the IMO and to relevant internationalConventions which have entered into force.
The amendments to the international instruments referred to in Article
3 may be excluded from the scope of this Regulation, pursuant toArticle 5 of Regulation(EC) No 2099/2002 of the EuropeanParliamen t
and of the Council of 5 November 2002 establishing a Committee on
Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS)(
1).
Article 7
1. The Commissionshall be assisted by a committee. The committee
shall meet at the invitation of the Commission whenever deemed
necessary for the application of this Regulation.
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Deci-
sion1999/468/EC (2) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period laid downinArticle 5(6) of Decision1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.1994R2978 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 324, 29.11.2002, p. 1.
(2) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ
L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23).▼M1
▼M2
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Article 8
1. Member States shall, indue 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
means of control.
2. The Member States shall send to the Commission annually all
available information concerning the application of this Regulation,including breaches committed by their port and harbour authoritiesand pilotage authorities.
3. WhenMember States adopt measures as referred to inparagraph
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 States shall immediately communicate to the
Commissionall provision s of domestic law which they adopt inthefield governed by this Regulation. The Commission shall inform the
other Member States thereof.
Article 9
1. The Commissionshall review the implemen tationof this Regula-
tion annually after receiving reports from Member States as prescribed
inArticle 8.
2. The Commissionshall presen t anevaluationreport onthe opera-
tionof the system as provided for inArticle 5 (2) to the EuropeanParliament and the Council by 31 December 1998.
Article 10
This Regulation shall into force on 1 January 1996.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
inall Member States.1994R2978 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 6
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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 as tabulated 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 — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 7
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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 its cargo spaces and includes combination carriers and any ‘chemical tanker’
as defined in Annex II of the present Convention, when it is carrying a cargo or
part cargo of oil inbulk.
‘Combination carrier’ means a ship designed to carry either oil or solid cargoes
inbulk.
‘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’ means an 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 — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 8