K*W«#}« 
à -tr COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 17.06.1997 
COM(97) 296 final 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 
on the 
implementation of Council Regulation 
3577/92 applying the principle of freedom 
to provide services to maritime cabotage 
(1995-1996) and on the economic and 
social impact of the liberalisation of 
island cabotage. 

1. INTRODUCTION 4 
2. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CABOTAGE SECTOR IN THE EUROPEAN 
UNION (1995-1996) 4 
2.1 Legislative developments 4 
2.2 Cabotage volumes (EU15 + other EEA) 6 
2.2.1 Liberalised and protected cabotage services by 31 December 
1996: 6 
2.2.2 Cargo trades (EU-15) 6 
2.2.3 Cargo trades in other EEA countries 7 
2.2.4 Passenger trades (EU15 +other EEA) 7 
2.3 Cabotage cargo volumes in South European Member States 8 
2.3.1 Liberalised (by 31.12.1996) 8 
2.3.2 Non liberalised (by 31.12.1996) 8 
2.3.3 Involvement of foreign flags in liberalised cabotage trades 9 
2.3.4 Foreign flag involvement in non-liberalised cabotage trades 10 
2.4 Foreign flags in cabotage trades of Northern Europe 11 
2.4.1 North European Member States - CARGO 11 
2.4.2 Northern European Member States - PASSENGERS 11 
2.4.3 Iceland and Norway 11 
2.5 Cabotage fleets 12 
2.6 Conclusions 12 
3. THE PARTICIPATION OF DIS AND MAR REGISTERED VESSELS IN EU 
CABOTAGE AND THE QUESTION OF THE EXTENSION OF 
REGULATION 3577/92 TO THE EEA 13 
3.1 Introduction 13 
3.2 Fleet developments 13 
3.2.1 DIS and MAR fleets 13 
3.2.2 The fleets of Iceland and Norway 14 
3.3 Cabotage involvement 14 
2 
3.3.1 Participation ofDIS and MAR vessels 14 
3.3.2 Participation of Icelandic and Norwegian vessels in cabotage 15 
3.4 Conclusions 15 
4. CREW COST COMPARISONS 17 
4.1 Calculations (input and outcome) 17 
4.2 Conclusions 18 
5. LIBERALISATION OF ISLAND CABOTAGE AND ITS ANTICIPATED 
SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT 20 
5.1 Legislative provisions 20 
5.2 Cabotage related employment in South European Member States.. 20 
5.3 The socio-economic impact of cabotage liberalisation until now 22 
5.3.1 Southern Member States 22 
5.3.2 Northern Member States 23 
5.4 Extrapolation of trends observed 24 
5.5 Conclusions 25 
ANNEXES... 27 
ANNEX 1 28 
ANNEX II 35 
ANNEX III ...38 
ANNEX IV 39 
ANNEX V 40 
1. INTRODUCTION 
1. This is the second report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) 
N° 3577/92 of 7 December 1992, which entered into force on 1 January 1993. 
The first report, covering the period 1993-1994, was presented on 6 September 
1995. The Regulation provides that every two years the Commission shall 
present to the Council a report on the implementation of the Regulation and, 
secondly, that the Commission shall make an in depth examination of the 
economic and social impact of the liberalisation of island cabotage and submit a 
report to the Council by the end of 1996. The present report deals with both 
aspects. 
2. The present report analyses the following main issues: 
Chapter 2 : the effects of the implementation of Regulation 3577/92 for the 
period 1995-1996 during which one more cabotage sector, namely mainland 
cruise services was liberalised. This part analyses economic developments in the 
cabotage sector with reference to the period covered by the previous report. 
Chapter 3 : the participation of DIS1 and MAR2 vessels in maritime cabotage 
trades of EU Member States and the question of the extension of Regulation 
3577/92 to the EEA. 
Chapter 4 : manning cost comparisons of the different EU and EFTA registers 
participating in EU cabotage. 
Chapter 5 : the economic and social impact of the liberalisation of island 
cabotage. In order to assess the above, an attempt has been made to extrapolate 
from the situation in the Northern Member States and in the liberalised sectors 
of the Sourthern Member States and to assess the cabotage related employment 
in the different Member States and in the island regions in particular. This 
Chapter presents in its conclusions a policy option that the Commission believes 
could be appropriate on crew nationality requirements for certain sectors of the 
cabotage market (see Article 3 of Regulation 3577/92). 
3. This report is presented for information to the European Parliament, the 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 
2. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CABOTAGE SECTOR IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (1995-
1996) 
2.1 Legislative developments 
In most Member States there have been no legislative developments since 1994 
either because the Regulation had already been fully implemented by national 
1 DIS : Danish International Ship Register 
2 MAR : Madeira International Ship Register 
legislation before (Germany, Portugal, Spain) or because no specific legislation is 
needed due to the lack of relevance of cabotage (Belgium, Luxemburg), or because 
Member States follow traditionally an open coast-line policy (United Kingdom, 
Ireland, Denmark, Netherlands). The Commission initiated infringement 
procedures against those Member States with conflicting national legislation (Italy, 
Greece, France). 
Denmark adopted Law 464 of 12 June 1996 amending the law on the DIS 
International Register in order to allow DIS cargo vessels (not passenger) access to 
Danish cabotage trades. It entered into force by order of 1 December 1996. 
Portugal adopted an amendment allowing MAR vessels to participate in Portuguese 
mainland cabotage which entered into force as from 1 January 1997. 
Spain adopted Law 42/1994 increasing the fiscal allowances for ships registered in 
the Special Canary Islands Register (REC) to 70% of the employers' Social Security 
contribution, 25% of the seafarers' income tax and 35% of corporate taxation3. 
Royal Decree 392/1996 of 1 March 1996 allowed ships used in mainland and island 
cabotage of strategic products to be registered in the REC. 
As far as the new Member States are concerned : 
- the Austrian legislation does not mention cabotage since maritime cabotage is 
geographically impossible in the case of Austria ; 
- until recently Finland operated a restrictive cabotage regime, only allowing 
national flag vessels to participate. Since its entry into the EU the law has been 
adjusted in accordance with Regulation 3577/92 by an amending act 1362/94 of 
22 December 1994 to the Restrictive Trade Practices Act. This act has abolished 
restrictions concerning participation of EU vessels in Finnish cabotage trades. 
- the cabotage trade in Sweden was reserved for Swedish vessels. However, 
through bilateral agreements Norwegian and some EU vessels could gain access. 
Following the entry into the EU the law was amended in accordance with 
Regulation 3577/92 by Decree of 1 July 1995 amending Decree 235/1974 on 
authorisation to carry out domestic maritime transport operations using foreign 
vessels, in the sense of allowing access to EU vessels as provided for by 
Regulation 3577/92. 
For the remaining EEA countries: 
- cabotage legislation does not exist in Iceland, all vessels have free access ; 
- Norway operates an open coastline policy, but NIS4 vessels may not participate in 
cabotage, while vessels involved in regular passenger services require a special 
license. 
It is understood that these percentages were raised again by Law 13/96 of 30 December 1996. This 
latter modification, entering into force on 1.1.1997, falls outside the scope of this report. 
NIS : Norwegian International Ship Register 
Annex I presents an overview of the cabotage legislation in the above mentioned 
States as regards : waiver systems, crew nationality requirements, vessel ownership 
requirements and fiscal regimes. 
2.2 Cabotage volumes (EU15 + other EEA) 
2.2.1 Liberalised and protected cabotage services by 31 December 1996: 
In the Northern Member States (SWE, FIN, DK, UK, IRL, DE, NL and 
BEL) all maritime cabotage services are liberalised either because they have a 
traditionally open coast policy or because of the implementation of 
Regulation 3577/92. 
In the Southern Member States (FR, SP, POR, IT and GR) the following 
cabotage services have been liberalised by 31 December 1996: 
- domestic mainland transport of non-strategic cargoes carried by vessels 
larger than 650 GT, on 1 January 1993; and 
- mainland cruise services, on 1 January 1995. 
The following services remained protected in the reference period 1995-96 : 
In mainland trades: 
- the transport of strategic commodities (oil, oil products and drinking 
water), which is liberalised as from 1 January 1997. 
- services by vessels smaller than 650 GT, protected until 1 January 1998 
and 
- regular passenger and ferry services, protected until 1 January 1999. 
In island trades: 
- island cabotage in the South European Member States (including Ceuta 
and Melilla and the French overseas departments) will be liberalised on the 
1st of January 1999. 
- Regular passenger and ferry services, as well as services provided by 
vessels less than 650 GT in Greece shall be exempted from liberalisation 
until 1 January 2004. 
2.2.2 Cargo trades (EU-15) 
The total volume of cabotage trades in the countries of the former EU-12 has 
been estimated at 239 mln tonnes in 1995, compared to 226 mln tonnes in 
1993. This was 5.8% higher than the level of 1993. In the new Member 
States 19.5 mln tonnes were transported in 1995, nearly 10% more than in 
1993 (17.8 mln tonnes); of this Sweden generated 13.6 mln tonnes, Finland 
5.9 mln tonnes. 
The total volume of cabotage cargo trades in the EU in 1995 was therefore 
259 mln tonnes. Of this 46% concerned 'mainland' trades, the other part being 
'island' trades. 
Two recent events have had a significant effect on the trade volumes: 
- due to the establishment of a pipeline between Sicily and the mainland in 
1995, the Italian oil transport by coastal vessels is declining; 
- an increase in the transport of fresh water was responsible for a significant 
increase in the Spanish cabotage. 
Table 1 Summary of cabotage cargo trade volumes in EU countries in 1993 and 1995 (mln tonnes) 
Area 1993 1995 
North Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, 100 106.5 
United Kingdom) 
South Europe (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain) 126 133.0 
Sub-total EU-12 226 239.5 
Sweden and Finland (18) 19.5 
Total EU-15 (244) 259.0 
2.2.3 Cargo trades in other EEA countries 
In two EEA countries - Iceland and Norway - around 39 mln tonnes of 
cabotage cargoes were transported in 1995 ; of this Iceland accounted for 
only 0.4 mln tonnes. As is the case in the UK, oil transport from the 
continental shelf accounts for a large part of Norway's cabotage volume. 
Annex II contains a detailed overview of cabotage .developments in the 
Member States and in Iceland and Norway. 
2.2.4 Passenger trades (EU 15 + other EEA) 
The most important passenger trades are presented in table 2. 
Table 2 Cabotage Passenger trades in EU and EEA countries, 1995 (million passengers) 
Country f fowsaiigfere 
Liberalised 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Finland 
Germany 
Netherlands 
Sweden 
United Kingdom 
other EEA 
Iceland 
Norway 21.5 
4.0 
5.5 
3.3 
1.1 
40.6 
0.3 
47.2 Protected 
Italy 
Portugal 
Spain 
France 
Greece a) gBBftSfflBM»^^^^ 
38.0 
0.4 
7.1 
1.3 
36 
a) 1994 figures. 
In nearly all cases the passenger movements relate to 'island' traffic. The 
liberalisation of mainland cruise passenger traffic on 1 January 1995 has had 
no impact because there are no mainland operations of cruise vessels taking 
place in South Europe. Domestic cruise passenger traffic only occurs within 
the Greek archipelago. 
2.3 Cabotage cargo volumes in South European Member States 
The North European Member States have already fully liberalised their trades. The 
ongoing liberalisation will thus affect cabotage trades of Southern European Member 
States." Apart from the liberalisation of 3 mln tonnes of protected mainland cargoes in 
Spain in February 1994, following the expiry of the safeguard measures under Art. 5 
of the Regulation, no new cargoes were liberalised during the period 1995-1996. 
2.3.1 Liberalised (by 31.12.1996) 
The cabotage trades in the South European Member States liberalised in the 
reference period involved non-strategic mainland cargoes, carried by vessels 
exceeding 650 GT. This segment totalled 18 mln tonnes in 1995. This 
represents 13,5% of the total cargo volume in Southern cabotage. The 
following table presents the updated actual figures for 1993 and estimates for 
1995. 
The total of liberalised trade includes an approximate 3 to 4 mln tonnes of 
cargoes that are transported on "own account". This concerns mainly 
transport by vessels owned by cement producers in Spain and Greece and 
transport of iron and steel products by the producers in Italy. 
Table 3 Liberalised cargo trades by market segment and country, 1993 and 1995 (mln tonnes) 
category 
France 
Greece 
Italy 
Portugal 
Spain 
Total bulk cargo 
1993 
1.1 
1.9 
5.1 
0.1 
3.7a) 
11.9 1995 
1.3 
2.0 
5.6 
3.5 
12.4 general cargo 
1993 
0.2 
2.1 
0.3 
2.6 1995 
0.1 
2.8 
0.2 
3.1 chem/gas 
1993 
0.5 
0.6 
0.1 
0.8 
2,0 1995 
0.6 
0.1 
0.8 
0.2 
0.8h) 
2.5 Total 
1993 
1.6 
2.1 
7.8 
0.2 
4.8 
16 5 1995 
1.9 
2.2 
9.2 
0.2 
4.5 
18.0 
a) the total refers to the volume that theoretically would have been effected if the liberalisation had already 
been in effect during 1993. Due to the safeguard measures that were in force until February 1994, the cabotage 
volume that was liberalised in reality amounted to some 0.5/0.8 mln tonnes only. 
b) estimate. 
2.3.2 Non liberalised (by 31.12.1996) 
The non-liberalised cargoes in Southern Europe (i.e. mainland transport of 
non-strategic cargoes by vessels <650 GT and all strategic and island 
cargoes), amounted to 115 mln tonnes in 1995 divided as per Table 4 . 
Table 4 Non-liberalised trades in Southern Europe by market segment (mln tonnes) 
category revised actual 1993 estimated 1995 
carried by vessels < 650 GT 3.0 3.5 
strategic mainland trades (oil & water)* 28.1 26.5 
strategic island trades (oil & water) 33.1 37.9 
bulk cargoes - island 23.4 22.5 
general cargoes - islands 21.7 24.5 
Total non-liberalised trades 109.3 114.9 
a) bulk liquids, excluding non strategic sections (chemicals, gases, edible oils, etc.). 
2.3.3 Involvement of foreign flags in liberalised cabotage trades 
Cargo trades - general 
Of the 18 mln tonnes of liberalised Southern European trades, 3 mln tonnes 
or 17% was carried by non-national vessels, from other EU or non-EU 
registers. Compared to the corresponding figure for 1993 (12%), this points 
at a growing market share for non-national flags. However, compared to the 
total amount of maritime cabotage trade in Southern European Member 
States (133 mln t.), the market share of non-national flags remained small 
with 2.3% (compared to 1.6% in 1993). 
A further breakdown of the volume of 3 mln tonnes carried by foreign flags is 
presented in table 5. 
Table 5 Flag involvement in liberalised South European cargo trades (1995 - mln tonnes) 
Country 
France 
Greece 
Italy 
Portugal 
Spain 
Total Total Cabotage Trade 
8.9 
18.4 
58.9 
6.0 
40.5 
132.7 EU flag 
involvement 
0.210 
0.005 
0.095 
nil 
1.420 
1.730 non EU flag 
involvement 
0.430 
nil 
0.170(a) 
nil 
0.720 
1.320 total foreign flag 
involvement 
0.640 
0.005 
0.265 
nil 
2.090 
3.050 
(a) the division between liberalised and non-liberalised is unknown. It is assumed that most of the transport under foreign flag relates to 
liberalised trades. 
It appears that only 1.73 mln tonnes were carried by EU vessels on the 
basis of Regulation 3577/92, whilst 1.32 mln tonnes were carried 
through waivers by non-EU vessels. Hence, it has to be concluded that 
the impact of the liberalisation under Regulation 3577/92 during the 
period of review has been very modest : only 10% of the liberalised 
cargo volume (18 mln t.), or 1,3% of the relevant market (1.73 mln 
tonnes on a total of 133 mln tonnes) was actually carried by ships 
registered in other Member States. 
A comparison by Member State between 1993 and 1995 shows no significant 
changes,-because national market shares remained close to 100%, except for 
Spain. In 1995, 82% of the mainland trade was carried by Spanish flag 
vessels, compared to 89% in 1993. However, the difference is mainly caused 
by reflagging of Spanish owned cabotage vessels to the Madeira register. The 
flagshares in mainland cabotage are now as follows : Spanish = 82%, MAR 
= 7.5%, EU flags = 3.5%, non-EU flags through waivers = 7%. 
2.3.4 Foreign flag involvement in non-liberalised cabotage trades 
The non liberalised cargoes (114.9 mln tonnes in 1995) were in principle still 
exclusively reserved for the national flags. However, in 1995 an estimated 
6.6 mln tonnes (6%) of these protected cargoes were transported by non-
national vessels through waivers in cases where national flag vessels were not 
available. Waivers were predominantly issued by three countries: France (0.6 
mln tonnes), Spain (1.3 mln tonnes) and Portugal (4.7 mln tonnes). 
Compared to 1993, the volume of traffic carried under waivers increased by 
10%. 
Table 6 Flag involvement in non liberalised South European trades (1995, mln tonnes) 
country 
France 
Greece 
Italy (a) 
Portugal 
Spain 
total EU flag 
(incl. second registers) 
involvement 
0,370 
nil 
nil 
4,700 
600 
5,670 non EU flag 
involvement 
0,260 
nil 
nil 
nil 
0,700 
0,960 total foreign flag 
involvement 
0,630 
nil 
nil 
4,700 
1,300 
6,630 
(a) see footnote table 5. 
Compared to the previous report, the utilisation of waivers went up in France 
and Spain, although the total volume remained modest. In Greece and Italy, 
waivers are rarely granted ; volumes remained negligible. 
As set out in the previous report, all cabotage transport of oil products in 
Portugal (4,7 mln tonnes) is carried out by Portuguese owned vessels 
operating under the Madeira register through waivers. 
N.B. 
As announced in the previous report, the Commission has examined whether 
the derogations accorded by Article 6 of Regulation 3577/92 remain justified 
considering that Member States' provisions on waivers for access to non-
liberalised trades do not include a preference system in favour of EU flags (of 
all Member States only Germany applies the principle of Community 
preference, see Law on Coastal Navigation of 26 July 1957 modified on 15 
10 
July 1994). However, taking into account that the volumes carried under 
waivers are limited, whilst a substantial proportion of the carriers concerned 
have an economic link with the Community, there appears to be no economic 
necessity for a specific initiative in this field at present. 
2.4 Foreign flags in cabotage trades of Northern Europe 
2.4.1 North European Member States - CARGO 
The cabotage in all North European Member States is fully open to all other 
EU flag vessels. In some Member States non-EU vessels require waivers (D, 
SW, FIN), unless they have been granted access on the basis of bilateral 
agreements. In the other Northern Member States third country vessels can 
participate on the same basis as EU vessels. The degree of foreign 
participation differs considerably from country to country. 
For Denmark and Sweden statistical data are not available, while for Austria, 
Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands this issue has no relevance, cargo 
cabotage being marginal or non-existant. The situation in the other countries 
is illustrated in table 7. 
Table 7 Flag division in the cabotage trades in North European Member states ( 1995) 
Country 
Finland 
Germany 
Ireland 
United Kingdom total volume (mln tonnes) 
5.9 
7.6 
0.7 
77.5 national share (%) 
88 
67 
4 
40 EU flag share (%) 
12 
15 
15 non EU flag share (%) 
nil 
18 
16«> 
45 
a) estimate. 
Z. 4.2 Northern European Member States - PASSENGERS 
The quasi totality of passenger cabotage in Northern Member States is island 
cabotage. According to the information available within the Commission 
services, 100% of these operations is carried out by vessels flying the national 
flag. 
2.4.3 Iceland and Norway 
There is no foreign participation in Iceland. The Norwegian flag accounts 
for 83% of Norwegian cabotage. It is not known how the remaining 17% is 
divided between EU and non-EU registered ships. For passenger traffic, the 
same applies as for the Northern European Member States : 100% national 
flag. 
11 
2.5 Cabotage fleets 
Annex III contains data relating to the cabotage or "coastal" fleets of the Member 
States. Comparative data are provided for 1994 and 1996. Ships registered in DIS, 
MAR, Norway or Iceland are not included ; they are referred to in Chapter 3 of this 
report. 
In the Southern Member States, dedicated cabotage fleets can be identified on the 
basis of specific licences, etc. However, in the Northern Member States this is not 
possible, as explained in the previous report. Therefore the "coastal" fleet consisting 
of vessels below 6,000 GT (10,000 DWT) has been chosen as the yardstick. 
Between 1.7.1994 and 1.7.1996 the coastal fleet of the Northern Member States 
(except Austria, Finland and Sweden) decreased by 14% from 1,490 to 1,200 ships, 
but increased slightly in capacity measured in GT (+3%). 
In the Southern Member States the number of vessels did not change significantly 
(1191 units in 1996) but the capacity in GT increased by 44% due to the bringing 
into service of new big ferries in Greece, Italy and Spain. The small Portuguese 
cabotage fleet declined further due to continued reflagging to Madeira. 
2.6 Conclusions 
In the reference period 1995-1996, not many changes took place compared to the 
situation described in the first cabotage report. 
The liberalised segment of the market in Southern Europe remained restricted to 
mainland cargo cabotage with vessels over 650 GT, which represents 18 mln tonnes 
of a total Southern cabotage market of 133 mln tonnes. 
The only new market segment being liberalised in the reference period concerns the 
so-called mainland cruises. However, this is a theoretical step without practical 
consequences since all cruise programmes include at least one island destination. 
Island cabotage and mainland passenger operations will not be liberalised until 1 
January 19995. 
The participation of non-national EU carriers in the liberalised segment of the 
Southern cabotage market remained modest : almost 10% of this market segment of 
18 mln tonnes was carried by non-national EU vessels on the basis of Regulation 
3577/92 in 1995. Non-EU carriage through waivers was more substantial : 7.9 mln 
tonnes, of which 1.3 mln tonnes in the liberalised market segment and 6.6 mln tonnes 
of non liberalised trades. 
The outlook for the next period 1997-1998 is that, due to the liberalisation of 
strategic mainland trades (26.5 mln tonnes) as from 1.1.1997, a more substantial step 
will be made on the way towards liberalisation of the Community's maritime 
cabotage market. 
Island cabotage in Greece, as far as regular passenger and ferry services and services provided by 
vessels below 650 Gt are concerned, shall only be liberalised by 1.1.2004. 
12 
3. THE PARTICIPATION OF DIS AND MAR REGISTERED VESSELS IN EU CABOTAGE 
AND THE QUESTION OF THE EXTENSION OF REGULATION 3577/92 TO THE EEA. 
3.1 Introduction 
The two questions referred to above were discussed in the Council of December 
1995, following the presentation of the first cabotage report. On both issues, several 
delegations expressed concern that vessels registered in DIS, MAR, Norway or 
Iceland may have considerable cost advantages over the vessels of other national 
registers of EU Member States and therefore were reluctant to grant cabotage rights 
to these vessels in the same manner as to other EU vessels. Decisions were 
postponed until after the presentation of the second cabotage report. 
In this chapter the two questions are examined in more detail by analysing in 
particular : the evolution of the relevant fleets since 1994 and the cabotage 
involvement at present. The comparative crew costs for all relevant registers are 
examined in Chapter 4. 
The temporary derogation provided for in Article 1.2 of Regulation 3577/92 
suspending the application of the provision of Article 1.1 requiring that ships fulfill 
all conditions for carrying out cabotage in the Member State of registration, expired 
on 31 December 1996. The derogation applied to the vessels of the DIS and MAR 
registers. In anticipation of the expiry, the Danish authorities have lifted6 the ban on 
the participation of DIS cargo vessels in Danish cabotage. The Portuguese law has 
also been amended to allow MAR registered vessels to participate in Portuguese 
mainland cabotage as from 1 January 1997. This means that DIS cargo7 vessels can 
continue to participate without restrictions in EU cabotage, whilst MAR vessels have 
access to mainland cabotage. 
Vessels registered in Norway or Iceland will have no access to EU cabotage as long 
as no decision is made on the extension of the cabotage Regulation to the EEA. In 
addition, it should be noted that NIS vessels are not allowed to participate in 
Norwegian national cabotage. Therefore, even if Regulation 3577/92 were extended 
to the EEA, NIS vessels would still have no cabotage rights. On various occasions 
the Norwegian authorities have stated that it is not their intention to modify the 
present NIS legislation in the near future. In this case, Icelandic and NOR registered 
vessels would gain access to provide maritime cabotage services. The NOR register 
is situated among the more expensive registers compared to EU standards,. 
3.2 Fleet developments 
3.2.1 DIS and MAR fleets 
Annex IV describes the composition of the DIS and MAR fleets. The main 
developments are the following : 
6 Law 464 of 12 June 1996 which entered into force on 1 December by order 1003 of 29 November 
1996. 
7 The situation for vessels carrying passengers has not been changed. Vessels carrying both cargo and 
passengers, such as Ro-Ro ferries, are considered as passenger vessels. 
13 
The number of ships registered in DIS showed a slight decrease from 1994 to 
1996 (from 478 to 448 ships ; -6%). However, total tonnage went up from 
6.7 to 7.6 mln tonnes DWT (+13%) due to an increase in the tanker sector. 
The tonnage of other ship types remained more or less unchanged. The fleet 
is relatively young : 70% of the vessels is under 10 years. 
The MAR fleet is still relatively small, although the number of ships increased 
from 35 in 1994 to 59 in 1996. However, DWT capacity decreased by 27% 
(from 1.46 mln DWT to 1.07 mln DWT) due to the fact that a number of 
large tankers flagged out. Of the 59 ships 19 are Portuguese owned and 34 
are Spanish owned (compared to 9 in 1994). 
3.2.2 The fleets of Iceland and Norway 
The Icelandic fleet, comprising 17 vessels is largely involved in domestic 
trades, only a few vessels operate internationally. There were no fleet changes 
between 1994 and 1996. 
The National Norwegian Register (NOR) covers 772 vessels of mainly small 
size, but also some 60 larger tankers for the offshore oil trades. Most vessels 
operate nationally. The average ship size stands at 2,700 GT only. Since mid 
1994 this fleet has hardly changed. 
The NIS fleet has an entirely different structure and consists mainly of large 
bulk vessels ; 287 tankers, 116 bulk carriers and 155 general cargo vessels. 
The average ship size here is 28,000 GT. Since 1994, about 80 vessels 
(mainly bulk) left the register. Other ship types include container vessels (6), 
reefers (13), ro-ro cargo (72), ro-ro passenger ferries (5) and passenger 
vessels (16). The total number of vessels at 1.1.1996 was 670 with 
18,799,000 GT. 
3.3 Cabotage involvement 
3.3.1 Participation of DIS and MAR vessels 
In the previous report it was estimated that of the total DIS fleet, at most 50 
units were employed regularly in EU cabotage outside Denmark, mainly in 
Germany and the U.K. It* was further estimated that 1 to 2% of the turnover 
of the DIS fleet was earned from cabotage activities, while only one quarter 
of this percentage stemmed from activities in Southern Europe, such as 
incidental transport of chemicals, gases and container feeder services. 
14 
The pattern found in 1996 is basically the same as descr .. ed abo e, although 
DIS involvement showed an increase in Spain, where participation in the 
mainland container feeder trade went up from 0.094 mln tonnes in 1994 to 
0.175 mln tonnes in 1996. The increase is due to the replacement of 
previously chartered non-EU tonnage by DIS vessels operating mainly in 
"international" feeder trades carrying cargoes on domestic routes on a 
through bill of lading. 
MAR vessels participate in Portuguese cabotage (4.7 mln tonnes of oil 
products through waivers) and Spanish cabotage (1.6 mln tonnes). The MAR 
vessels operating in Spain are Spanish owned and have recently been flagged 
out from the Spanish register (see chapter 2, paragraph 2.3.3). In the case of 
Portugal, the MAR vessels are all Portuguese owned and employ Portuguese 
crew. There are no reports of significant MAR involvement in other cabotage 
trades. 
3.3.2 Participation of Icelandic and Norwegian vessels in cabotage 
Although precise figures are not available, it is commonly known that NIS 
vessels are strongly represented in the British mainland oil trades and in 
shuttling oil cargoes from the British offshore fields to the mainland. 
According to the reports received by the Commission, Norwegian vessels do 
not play an important role in any of the other cabotage markets of Member 
States. It is reported that Norwegian vessels carried 0,5% of total Spanish 
cabotage volumes in 1995 (compared to 0,6% in 1994 and 0,4% in 1993) on 
the basis of waivers. In addition, the French authorities granted 5 single trip 
waivers to NIS vessels in 1995 for the carriage of liquid gases and chemicals. 
No other reports of Norwegian cabotage involvement have been received, 
neither were any Icelandic vessels identified in EU cabotage. 
3.4 Conclusions 
-a- In the reference period 1995-1996 DIS and MAR vessels had the same 
cabotage rights as other EU vessels on the basis of Art. 1.2 of Regulation 
3577/92, which provision expired on 31.12.1996. Following the amendments 
of relevant Danish and Portuguese laws, DIS cargo vessels will continue to 
have such rights, whilst MAR vessels have access to mainland cabotage. 
As NIS and Icelandic vessels were not covered by Regulation 3577/92 in the 
reference period, participation in cabotage was only possible through waivers. 
-b- From the data presented in paragraph 3.3, it follows that the participation of 
DIS, Norwegian and Icelandic vessels in EU cabotage in Southern Member 
States has been marginal until now. 
The case of MAR is different in the sense that a number of traditional 
cabotage operators established in Portugal and Spain have reflagged vessels to 
MAR in an attempt to reduce their operating costs, while their vessels 
continue to operate in their traditional markets. 
-c- Already in 1994, the Commission proposed to the Council the extension of 
Council Regulation (EEC) N° 3577/92 applying the principle of freedom to 
15 
provide services to maritime transport within Member States as part of the 
"interim package". In 1995, when the first cabotage report was presented to 
the Council, the Commission expressed the view that Regulation 3577/92 had 
to be extended to the EEA. Consequently, in 1996, the Commission 
transmitted a proposal to the Council to extend Regulation 3577/92 to the 
EEA. The European Parliament endorsed this position. Furthermore, the 
observed market developments since then have given no reason for concern 
on economic grounds. Therefore, the Commission confirms its position 
regarding the EEA relevance of Regulation 3577/92 and the resulting 
obligation of the Community to grant the right to carry out maritime cabotage 
to the EFTA/EEA States. 
16 
CREW COST COMPARISONS 
4.1 Calculations (input and outcome) 
Crew costs are an important element in the competition between carriers operating 
under different flags (although there are many other factors involved, see paragraph 
4.2). Therefore, the Commission has asked a specialised consultant to estimate the 
comparative crew costs for three shiptypes which are considered to be representative 
for cabotage operations : a 1500 GT / 3000 DWT and a 3300 GT / 6000 DWT dry 
bulk cargo vessels and a 9000 GT/15000 DWT product tanker. 
Manning costs are predominantly determined by the following factors : crew 
composition, nationality requirements and the different salary levels for such 
seafarers and, thirdly, specific national rules regarding income tax and social 
contributions of seafarers. 
Generally, there is a difference between South European cabotage manning 
requirements and Northern European requirements in the sense that (a) the number 
of seafarers on board is above the average found in the North and (b) nationality 
requirements tend to be more strict (in some cases the rules require 100% EU or 
national crew). On the other hand, the so-called second registers (presented in bold 
in table 12) hardly impose any nationality requirements : normally only the captain 
has to be a national of the flag State. *o 
As regards market access rights, it should be recalled that DIS-cargo vessels and 
ISR-vessels (Germany) have the same cabotage rights as ships in first registers. MAR 
vessels had such rights until 31.12.1996 and since then they have access to mainland 
cabotage only. In Spain, REC vessels have free access to those market segments that 
have been liberalised8 under Regulation 3577/92. NIS vessels have no cabotage 
rishts. *&* 
The outcome of the crew cost calculations is presented in tables 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 of 
Annex 5. A comprehensive overview of the results is summarized in the following 
table. The figures relate to the average crew number and nationality situation as has 
been found to be typical for the fleets of the different countries. The estimate shown 
in this table represents the net manning costs to the shipowner, i.e. gross manning 
costs minus tax benefits or other labour related State aids which applied in the 
various countries in January 1996. 
REC vessels also have access to strategic cargo in island cabotage in Spain, provided that until 
1.1.1999, 100% of the crew consists of EU nationals and that the captain and his first officer are 
Spanish nationals. 
17 
Tabic 12 Comparative crew costs by shiptypc and register (average liU = 100) I)) - Situation January !996. 
DIS minimum (Denmark) c) 
Madeira (Portugal) 
NIS (Norway) 
Netherlands 
ISU (Germany) 
Portugal a) 
REC (Spain) a) 
Italy 
Iceland 
DIS - Danish crew (Denmark) c) 
Germany 
United Kingdom 
Greece a) 
Ireland 
Denmark 
Spain a) 
Norway 
Finland 
TAAF (France) 
Luxembourg 
Sweden 
Belgium 
France general cargo 
1,500 GT 
35 
45 
53 
55 
56 
74 
77 
78 
n.a. 
83 
86 
92 
92 
95 
105 
107 
107 
114 
133 
140 
158 
180 
236 general cargo 
3,300 GT 
50 
40 
45 
46 
65 
72 
76 
78 
80 
115 
78 
89 
97 
93 
147 
105 
107 
128 
129 
123 
141 
160 
236 Product tanker 
9,000 GT 
43 
50 
67 
56 
86 
79 
78 
107 
75 
107 
103 
78 
100 
80 
137 
100 
139 
no 
104 
115 
133 
150 
202 
a) Consultants' estimate based on shipowners data. 
b) Ranking according to estimated costs for a 1,500 GT vessel. 
c) "DIS minimum" stands for Danish captain and entirely foreign crew paid on the basis of a collective bargaining agreement 
concluded with foreign seaman's unions. "DIS-Danish crew" stands for Danish captain and either Danish crew or mixed crew paid 
according to Danish standards. 
Sources: Tecnecon/MERC/ISF. 
4.2 Conclusions 
From the above table, the following tentative conclusions can be drawn for cabotage 
cargo vessels : 
- crew costs are lowest in the second registers : DIS-minimum, MAR and NIS, but 
crew costs under the Dutch national register are in the same range ; 
- crew costs under ISR, Portuguese national register and REC are also clearly 
below average ; 
- slightly below average are : Italy, Iceland, DIS-Danish, Germany, the UK, Greece 
and Ireland ; 
- the other registers are average or above, among which the registers of France, 
Belgium and Sweden show the highest manning costs. 
These tentative conclusions should be interpreted with great caution taking into 
account the following considerations : 
18 
-a- The crew costs under different registers are strongly influenced by specific 
fiscal arrangements which are changed by national authorities from time to time. 
At present, the Commission is examining several new labour cost related State 
aid schemes for 1997 (France, Sweden, REC). Germany has recently revised 
the support measures for shipowners and temporarily reduced the overall 
budget for this programme. Norway has also modified labour cost related 
arrangements for seafarers : these new measures are currently being examined 
by the EFTA Surveillance Authority. In some other Member States, discussions 
on such measures are underway between the government and the social 
partners. Consequently, the competitivity ranking of table 12 is likely to change 
considerably in the near future. 
To illustrate the point, the high ranking of the Dutch register in table 12 is due 
to the fact that in January 1996 a new scheme came into force by which a zero 
rate was introduced for income tax and social contributions of Dutch seafarers 
on board Dutch flag vessels. At the same time, investment premiums were 
abolished. If, for 1995 the same calculations had been made, then the crew 
costs ranking of this register would have been around EU average. 
-b- Crew costs form only a small percentage of the total costs of a cargo vessel9. 
Fixed costs, of which capital costs are the main component, normally account 
for more than half of the overall costs. The other so-called operational costs 
broadly include fuel, expenditures for surveys, repairs and maintenance and 
manning costs. As a general rule, fuel costs account for 45-50% of the 
operational costs, surveys, maintenance and repairs for 10 to 15%, and manning 
costs for the balance. 
Certain of these cost components can be assumed to be the same in all Member 
States (e.g. fuel is tax free in all M.S.), however, other cost elements may differ 
considerably. For instance, capital costs are influenced by investment premiums 
(granted in a number of Member States) or by interest Tate subsidies, or by 
accelerated depreciation schemes or by other fiscal facilities concerning tax free 
reserves, profit and loss compensations, etc. 
In conclusion, table 12 should not be understood as being the yardstick for the 
overall competitive position of different registers. It merely compares the manning 
costs at January 1996, knowing that the picture changes regularly in function of the 
variables set out above. 
9 Passenger operations are more labour intensive, hence, crew costs play a greater role. 
19 
5. LIBERALISATION OF ISLAND CABOTAGE AND ITS ANTICIPATED SOCIO-ECONOMIC 
IMPACT. 
5.1 Legislative provisions 
Article 6.2 of Regulation 3577/92 provides that island cabotage in the Southern 
Member States10 shall be temporarily exempted from the implementation of the 
Regulation until 1 January 1999. Article 6.3 provides that this derogation should be 
extended for Greece until 1 January 2004 for regular passenger services, ferry 
services and services provided by vessels less than 650 GT. 
On manning nationality requirements for vessels engaged in island cabotage (valid for 
both Southern and Northern Europe), Article 3.2 of the Regulation provides that all 
matters relating to manning shall be the responsibility of the State in which the vessel 
is performing a maritime transport (host State). However, Article 3.3 states that, as 
from 1.1.1999, manning of cargo vessels over 650 GT engaged in so-called 
consecutive island cabotage11 shall be governed by flag State conditions. 
Article 3.4 further provides that (a) the Commission shall make an in-depth 
examination of the economic and social impact of the liberalisation of island cabotage 
and shall submit a report to the Council before 1 January 1997, and (b) that this latter 
report should serve as a basis for a proposal to be submitted to the Council which 
may include adjustments to the manning nationality provisions laid down in 
paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 3 and that the definitive system shall be approved by 
the Council before 1 January 1999. 
The present chapter summarizes the findings of the aforementioned examination of 
the possible socio-economic impact of the forthcoming liberalisation of island 
cabotage. A proposal on manning nationality provisions will be submitted shortly 
after the present report has been discussed in the Council framework. 
5.2 Cabotage related employment in South European Member States 
From the study carried out on behalf of the Commission, it appears that the issue of 
liberalisation of island cabotage is still a very sensitive one in Southern Europe. In 
particular, if it was decided to modify the current nationality manning requirements 
from host State to flag State, the Unions of seafarers fear there would be an 
important loss of local employment. It should also be stressed that the unemployment 
rate in certain island regions is very high compared to the national average of the 
countries concerned. Hence, it would be very difficult for any seafarers resident in 
the islands made redundant to find alternative employment there. For example, Sicily 
and Sardinia are island regions with an unemployment rate substantially above 
average. However, there are also islands with a relatively low unemployment rate : 
10 that means : island cabotage in the Mediterranean and with regard to Canary, Azores and Madeira 
archipelagoes, Ceuta and Mellila, the French islands along the Atlantic coast and the French overseas 
departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Reunion). 
11 that means : the island cabotage voyage concerned follows or precedes a voyage to or from another 
State. 
20 
the Balearics, Crete and Madeira. In the other island regions, the employment 
situation is not very different from the mainland. 
The total number of jobs directly related to South European cabotage is summarized 
in the following table : 
Table of Estimated total number of jobs associated with South European cabotage activities (1995) 
category 
France 
Greece 
Italy 
Portugal 
Spain 
Total sea 
total 
4,094 
14,430 
18,450 
523 
6,300 
43,797 island 
trades 
3,350 
12.200 
17.500 
500 
4,540 
38.090 shore 
total 
1,747 
2,500 
2,050 
88 
1,240 
7,625 island 
trades 
1,457 
900 
1,950 
70 
1,090 
5,480 Total 
total 
5,841 
16,930 
20,500 
611 
7,540 
51,422 island 
trades 
4,820 
13,100 
19,450 
570 
5,630 
43,570 island 
residents 
1,820 
5,860 
7,780° 
128 
1,602 
17,190 
These figures include all cabotage sectors : cargo (liquid bulk, dry bulk, containers 
etc.), regular passenger/ferry services and cruise activities. Cabin crew and catering 
personnel on board passenger vessels are counted as seafarers and are included in the 
above figures, which refer to all island regions as specified in footnote 10. 
From these figures, it follows that island cabotage is indeed an important source of 
employment in the regions concerned. With some 38.090 seafarers in island cabotage 
and some 5.480 directly related shore staff, the island sectors count for 43.570 jobs. 
12 Although by virtue of Art. 6 of Regulation 3577/92 island cabotage with the French DOM's is 
temporarily exempted (until 1.1.1999) from its application, French national legislation only reserves 
to the French flag cabotage trades between ports of one and the same overseas department and 
between ports in Guadeloupe, Guyane and Maritinique. As a result, cabotage related employment is 
limited to a small number of local seafarers (+/- 100) and shore staff (+/- 20), which figures are 
included here. 
21 
The great majority (70%) of seafarers jobs in island traffic is found in the labour 
intensive passenger trades (see below) : 
regular passenger/ferry services : 22.200 seaferers = 58.4% 
island cruise services : 4.400 seafarers = 11.6% 
island cargo trades : 11.400 seafarers = 30% 
+ + __ 
total of 38.000 seafarers = 100% } 70% 
5.3 The socio-economic impact of cabotage liberalisation until now 
5.3.1 Southern Member States 
In order to estimate what the likely socio-economic impact of the 
forthcoming liberalisation of island cabotage in Southern Europe will be, it 
has been examined what conclusions can be drawn from : 
-a- the partial liberalisation of mainland cabotage in Southern Europe up 
to now and 
-b- the completed liberalisation of both mainland and island cabotage in 
Northern Europe (see 5.3.2). 
As regards point -a-, the analysis presented in chapter 2 has shown that the 
impact of the liberalisation has been very limited : of the 18 mln tonnes of 
cargo being liberalised under Regulation 3577/9^ only 1.73 mln tonnes (10%) 
were carried by ships from other Member States. There are no indications 
that this modest participation of foreign EU carriers has had a significant 
impact on the position of seafarers in Southern Member States. 
Another development, with perhaps a greater bearing on the position of EU 
seafarers, was the participation of foreign registered vessels (both EU and 
non-EU) in non-liberalised trades on the basis of waivers granted by national 
authorities for a total volume of 6.6 mln tonnes. As stated before, it has been 
observed that national carriers tend to cut costs (notably in Portugal and 
Spain) by reflagging cabotage vessels to a second register and to use these. 
same vessels on the basis of waivers in cabotage trades. However, the trend 
to cut costs by re-flagging is a general one, observed in all sectors of 
Community shipping, independent of the cabotage Regulation. 
If any conclusion can be drawn from the above situation, it appears to be that 
the socio-economic impact of the cabotage Regulation is less pronounced 
than initially expected or feared by certain parties. However, this is only a 
preliminary conclusion since it should be borne in mind that the liberalisation 
of cabotage in Southern Europe has only just begun : 18 mln tonnes have 
been liberalised out of a total cabotage cargo volume of 133 mln tonnes. 
More significant volumes of strategic mainland cabotage are now being 
22 
liberalised as from 1 January 1997 whilst the liberalisation in passenger trades 
will not start until 1.1.1999. 
5.3.2 Northern Member States 
Some Northern Member States apply traditionally an open coast line policy 
(UK, Ireland, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium). Hence, cabotage has been 
completely free and open to worldwide competition for many decades. In 
other Member States cabotage was liberalised with the entry into force of 
Regulation 3577/92 (Germany) or at the moment of accession to the 
Community for Sweden and Finland respectively. 
The U.K., with a substantial cabotage market and a completely liberal policy, 
is an interesting case to see to what extent national carriers can be substituted 
by foreign carriers in the long run. It appears that the situation differs for the 
following market segments : liquid bulk, dry cargo and passenger services. In 
liquid bulk, UK registered ships hold a market share of only 30%; in dry bulk, 
the share is around 50%, whilst passenger cabotage services are entirely 
carried out under the national flag. 
The UK tanker cabotage market is a special case. The substantial oil 
transport from the continental shelf in the North Sea has attracted 
international tanker operators (NIS, Finland, others). The average loading 
capacity of tankers used in this trade is also much higher than of tankers in 
conventional cabotage trades. 
It should also be borne in mind that in the bulk sector and in particular in 
Northern Europe, many EU established shipowners have chosen to re-flag 
their vessels to non-EU registers (for fiscal and other reasons falling outside 
the scope of the cabotage Regulation). This may lead to a situation where the 
number of vessels required to serve the national cabotage market is no longer 
available under the national flag. 
In the other Northern Member States, passenger island cabotage is 100% 
carried out by nationally owned, crewed and registered vessels. Cabotage 
passenger trades are important in Denihark and to a lesser extent also in 
Germany, Finland and the Netherlands (see table 2). 
As regards cargo cabotage, the situation varies by Member State. In 
Germany, national carriers operating under the national flag held in 1995 (see 
table 7) 67% of the market (liquid bulk and dry cargo combined), 15% was 
carried under other EU flags and 18% by third country registers through 
waivers. 
For Denmark and Sweden, no precise figures are available, but experts 
suggest that the global patterns should be roughly similar to those found in 
the UK and Germany respectively. 
In Finland, national carriers have 88% of the market, 12% is carried by other 
EU flags. 
23 
5.4 Extrapolation of trends observed 
To what extent can the experiences gained with free cabotage in Northern Europe be 
used to forecast future developments in Southern Europe? Obviously, the differences 
between the relevant markets have to be taken into account. 
From the preceding section it appears that domestic regular passenger services tend 
to remain in the hands of carriers established in the State concerned, operating ships 
registered in that State and crewed by nationals of that State, even if the market is 
open and free for many years. The most likely explanation for this phenomenon in 
Northern Europe is that it is not financially attractive for a newcomer to set up a 
regular passenger service to Nordic islands in parallel to the existing service of the 
traditional carrier. In the Northern Member States such services are normally carried 
out on a purely commercial basis, which implies modest profit margins in an open 
low-growth market. It is also worth noting that cabotage passenger operators hardly 
make use of the possibilities under the laws of Northern Member States to engage 
foreign non-EU staff on board their domestic ferries. Language considerations may 
partly explain this preference for national seamen. 
The market for regular passenger services to and from islands in Southern Europe is 
different in the sense that the seasonal fluctuations in demand (summer peak) are 
much more pronounced. Island services can be very profitable in the summer. Hence, 
it is not to be excluded that newcomers would find it commercially attractive to set 
up new regular passenger services in parallel to those offered by the traditional 
carriers. Although, such an evolution would be compatible with the principle of 
freedom to provide services, it also implies that the issue of harmonisation of 
competition conditions merits special attention. 
The concern of seafarers Unions and ferry operators in Southern Europe with 
increased competition from outside should be seen against the background of other 
fundamental changes taking place in their economic environment, such as moves 
towards privatisation of presently State-owned ferry companies serving island 
regions in Italy and Spain, pressure from certain governments to re-examine the 
provisions on public service obligations in favour of a new approach based on public 
tender, the introduction of fast ferries, etc. These developments should in any event 
force operators to become more market oriented and competitive, a process which 
can already be observed. 
When being asked to express their views on the forthcoming liberalisation of the 
cabotage market and the possible switch from host State to flag State manning 
conditions, it became clear that this latter point is the main source of concern 
amongst South European seafarers, in particular in relation to the labour intensive 
passenger services. It would be considered unfair if North European carriers were 
allowed to set up regular passenger services in Southern Europe making partial use 
of cheap third country labour, as is allowed to some .extent under their flag State 
manning provisions. 
As regards island cargo trades, the situation is less sensitive. First of all, because 
crew costs play a lesser role in cargo trades and only 30% of all seamen employed in 
Southern island cabotage work in the cargo sector (see page 20). Secondly, some 
40% of these jobs are found on board very small vessels with a loading capacity of 
less than 650 GT, which hardly exist in fleets of Northern Member States. The 
24 
possible application of flag State conditions would therefore not be likely to have a 
significant impact on this sector. 
In island cargo cabotage, with bigger vessels, Northern carriers could offer 
competition. However, considering that Regulation 3577/92 provides for long 
transition periods allowing the parties concerned sufficient time to prepare for the 
opening of the market, further considering that there is no legal obligation to open 
the cabotage market to non-EU carriers (as has been done in certain Northern 
Member States), and taking into account the experience gained with the liberalisation 
of mainland cargo cabotage, there is no reason to assume unsustainable socio­
economic consequences as a result of the liberalisation of island cargo cabotage. 
5.5 Conclusions 
The host State manning conditions as set out in Article 3 of Regulation 3577/92 are 
to be regarded as a temporary derogation to the normal flag State regime. 
As regards maritime cabotage cargo services, the analysis presented in the previous 
chapters of this report has not revealed compelling arguments to justify a long lasting 
derogation from the usual flag State manning conditions. Cargo cabotage services 
are often carried out by ships which participate alternatively in international and 
domestic traffic. The manning conditions for this type of cabotage can therefore not 
deviate substantially from the accepted practice in international trades. The 
Commission therefore takes the view that as of a certain date (to be decided) flag 
State manning conditions should apply to the entire EU-market for maritime cargo 
cabotage. 
As regards regular passenger/ferry services in island cabotage, the special character of 
the market and the potential socio-economic implications of the forthcoming 
liberalisation, in combination with the envisaged switch from host-State to flag-State 
manning conditions, would justify the adoption of certain special provisions to 
counteract a possible disruption of the competition conditions. The Commission 
believes that this objective can be achieved by the introduction of a regime whereby 
flag State manning conditions shall in principle apply to all cabotage passenger 
services but the host State may be allowed to require that, in the case of regular 
passenger cabotage services, its rules concerning the proportion of EU nationals in 
the crew shall apply (which would require an amendment of Article 3 of Regulation 
3577/92). 
In addition, from the safety aspect it should be recalled that Member States may 
require, in accordance with Council Directive 94/58/EC of 22 November 1994 on the 
minimum level of training for seafarers (O.J. N° L 319 p. 28), that a certain 
percentage of the crew members and in particular those nominated on muster lists to 
assist passengers in emergency situations, must have communication skills that are 
sufficient for that purpose and which may consist, inter, alia, in speaking the language 
or languages appropriate to the principal nationalities of passengers carried on a 
particular route. 
This approach will allow the internal market to work on the basis of Community 
social standards wherever this is possible. 
25 
It is the Commission's intention to submit to the Council a legislative proposal 
amending Article 3 of Regulation 3577/92 along the lines set out above, in the near 
future. 
26 
ANNEXES 
27 
ANNEX 1 
Table A. 1 Overview of cabotage provisions for EU Member States 
Country 
Austria 
Belgium 
Denmark Basic principle on 
cabotage 
No maritime cabotage 
Not restricted 
Not restricted: 
Decree 658/94 allows 
all foreign vessels to 
participate. Comment 
Previous restrictions for 
DIS cargo vessels have 
been abolished as of 1 
December 1996. Waiver system 
not applicable 
not applicable 
not applicable Crew nationality requirements 
1st Register 
None, negotiated on 
ship by ship basis. 
Captain should be 
Belgian citizen, waivers 
given in case of non 
availability. 
Captain must be 
Danish. 2nd Register 
not applicable 
not applicable 
DIS Register: 
• Captain to be Danish 
national. 
• Third country natio­
nals can be employed 
on local wage 
conditions. Vessel ownership requirements 
1st Register 
Vessel owned/managed 
by EU citizen/company 
domiciled in Austria 
Vessel owned by 
Belgian/EU citizen/ 
company domiciled in 
Belgium/EU or non EU 
national represented by 
Belgium/EU citizen with 
office in/managed from 
Belgium 
Vessel owned by Danish 
or EU persons or 
companies and managed 
from Denmark. 2nd Register 
not applicable 
not applicable 
DIS Register: see 1st 
register Fiscal regime 
None applicable for 
shipping 
None specifically for 
seafarers 
Seafarers on board DIS 
vessels are tax exempted 
and paid net wages. 
Source : Merc TecnEcon 
•2% 
Country 
Finland 
France Basic principle on 
cabotage 
Restricted: 
Cabotage governed by 
Section 4 of Restrictive 
Trades Practices Act. 
Foreign vessels generally 
prohibited from entering 
domestic coastal trades. 
Restricted: 
Art.257 'Code des 
Douanes'(11/5/77): 
only French flag vessels 
can participate between 
metropolitan ports. 
Art.258 extends this to 
voyages between ports in 
one dom and ports of 
Guadeloupe, Guyane 
and Martinique. Comment 
An amending Act 
(1362/94) issued on 
1.1.95: 
- abolished restrictions 
concerning cabotage for 
EU vessels. Waiver system 
• Permits granted for 
maximum of 1 year to 
foreign vessels trading 
between Aland and 
mainland. 
- 3 awarded in 1993. No 
permits awarded in 
1995/6. 
• Special permits be 
obtained from MOTC 
for foreign ships in 
mainland cabotage if no 
suitable Finnish ship 
available. 
- 10 permits given in '95, 
5 in 96 (mainly Eastern 
Europe flags). • 
Waivers can be granted 
for single or consecutive 
voyage(s) to non-EU 
vessels in liberalised 
trades and EU-vessels in 
non-liberalised trades in 
case of "identified 
demand" (art 257). Crew nationality requirements 
1st Register 
Finnish citizens retained 
on collective labour 
contracts. 
- 1st Register: master and 
first mate French 
citizens, 
- other crew citizens of the 
EU or EEA. 2nd Register 
• Master must be Finnish 
national. 
- May recruit foreign crew 
members on certain 
conditions by way of 
derogation from the 
usual collective labour 
agreements. 
- Half the crew may 
consist of members 
domiciled in the EEA. 
- Finnish crews are largely 
used in practice. 
Taaf (Kerguelen) 
Register: -35% of crew 
should . be French 
nationals, incl. captain 
and 1st engineer. Vessel ownership requirements 
1st Register 
- Registration governed by 
Marine Registration Act 
(512/1993). 
- >60% vessel owned by 
Finnish citizens/ 
companies. 
- Amendment to Shipping 
Act (167/1939) of 1.10-
.94 to allow foreign 
ships registered in 
Finnish register if 
owned/ controlled by 
Finnish - or EEA 
entities. 
- Vessel must belong 
100% to a physical 
person national of EU/ 
EEA or 50% to a 
company having its 
registered office in EU, 
and its operation carried 
out from France. 2nd Register 
- List of Merchant Vessels 
in International Trade 
(Act No. 1707/1991). 
- Ownership requirements 
same as 1st register. 
- Vessels must be less than 
20 years old. 
- Registration not 
permitted for passenger/ 
car ferries or vessels 
engaged only in 
cabotage. 
TAAF register: similar 
as 1st register. Fiscal regime 
Tax rebates and partial 
refund of social security 
costs paid by the owner 
are available for ships 
listed on the 
International Register. 
- partial refunding 
corporate tax paid to 
local authorities, 
• partial refunding social 
security costs for 
operations in 
international trades. 
Source : Merc TecnEcon 
29 
Source : Merc TecnEcon 
Country 
Germany 
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy Basic principle on 
cabotage 
Restricted to EU reg­
istered or owned 
vessels: 
Regulated in Art. 5: para 
2, 3 'Gesetz ilber die 
Kûstenschiffahrt' (Law 
on coastal shipping). 
Restricted: 
Regulated in legislative 
decree 187/73 for 
passenger and cargo 
transport. 
in principle only Greek 
vessels are allowed 
Not restricted 
Restricted 
Regulated in: 'Codice 
della Navigazione' 
Chapter III (Shipping 
Code). 
in principle, restricted to 
Italian vessels Comment 
Paragraph 2.1 sub 3 
(which came in effect on 
23 July 1994) brought 
Art 5. in line with CR 
3577/92. 
Près. Decree 215794 
partly harmonised Greek 
law in accordance with 
CR 3577/92: 
- allows involvement of 
oth. EU vessels in non-
strategic trades by 
vessels >650 GT. 
Min. of Merchant 
Marine Circular of 
1992: 
- allows other EU vessels 
in liberalised cabotage 
sections. Waiver system 
Para 2.2 & 3 of Art.5 
define: -conditions for 
granting of waivers to 
non-EU flag vessels; 
- these conditions may be 
waived in case of 
reciprocity. 
Waivers can be granted: 
- Art. 166 of Nautical Law 
187/73 regulates 
waivers. 
- During 1995/6 only 4 
waivers were granted, 
for specialised vessels. 
not applicable 
Waivers may be granted 
on case by case basis 
through special 
authorization by the 
Ministry. Crew nationality requirements 
1st Register 
- According to the para 1 
of the Schiffs-
besatzungsordnung: 
Master should be a 
German national. 
- No further stipulations. 
Près. Decree 12/92 
demands: 
- 100% of crew consists of 
Greek/other EU 
nationals. 
- Officers to be Irish, UK, 
other EU or Common­
wealth citizens. 
- Ratings: Irish, UK, or 
other EU citizens. 
• Master and chief officer 
to be Italian, 
- other crew members 
Italian or EU citizens 
(certificates recognised 
by Italian law). 2nd Register 
Basically same, but: 
- Vessels on ISR list, 
(operating >half year 
international) may 
employ foreigners. 
- Vessels >half year in 
cabotage cannot enter 
ISR list and may only 
employ foreigners if 
nationals not available. 
not applicable 
not applicable 
not applicable Vessel ownership requirements 
1st Register 
>50% ownership/control 
by German or EU 
nationals with 
representative domiciled 
in Germany.(Art. 1 and 
2 of Flaggen-
rechtsgesetz). 
Article 5 of Law 187/93 
states: >50% of owner­
ship by Greek nationals 
or legal entities. 
Vessels owned by Irish 
citizens/Corporate body 
or citizens/corporate 
body of reciprocating 
states recognised by 
Government. 
More than 50% property 
belonging to Italian 
citizens/compa-nies, as 
regulated in Art. 143 
Codice della 
Navigazione. 2nd Register 
ISR same as 1st register. 
not applicable 
not applicable 
not applicable Fiscal regime 
- ships operating solely in 
cabotage: no tax relief 
on income and no 
subsidies. 
- profit from ships 
operating internationally 
taxed at maximum 
28.2% instead of normal 
47%. 
- Officers pay 8% income 
tax, 
- Ratings are totally 
exempted from income 
tax. 
- 10% Corporate profit 
tax 
- 15% straight line 
depreciation 
- No reduction on 
standard tax for 
seafarers. 
• 8.86% détaxation of 
social benefit charges 
plus 
-Until 30/11/1996: 
10.6% allowance on 
social benefit charges. 
30 
Country 
Luxem­
burg 
Nether­
lands 
Portugal Basic principle on 
cabotage 
No maritime cabotage 
Not restricted 
Restricted 
Regulated in Decree 
Law 368 /93 
restricted to Portuguese 
vessels Comment 
Decree Law 368/93 
incorporates CR 
3577/92: 
- liberalised trades are 
open to other EU 
vessels. Waiver system 
not applicable 
not applicable 
Art.3.1 of D.L.368/93 
allows for authorization 
Minister use of other 
vessels in case of 
demand. Crew nationality requirements 
1st Register 
Independent register 
mainly used by Belgian 
owners. Captain EU 
citizen, * licence 
recognised by 
Luxemburg. Crew 
according STWC 
standards. 
Captain Dutch national, 
other crew according to 
STCW standards, certi­
ficates recognised by 
Dutch authorities. 
100% Portuguese or 
EU nationals. 2nd Register 
not applicable 
not applicable 
Madeira register: 
- Captain + 50% crew 
Portuguese or EU 
nationals Vessel ownership requirements 
1st Register 
Owned >50% by 
nationals of EU or 
commercial companies 
with registered office in 
EU, if significant part of 
management is handled 
from Luxembourg 
2/3 vessel must belong 
to Dutch national 
persons or legal entities 
with EU nationality. 
Substantial part of 
(operational) 
management to be 
Dutch/ organised from 
Holland, regulated in 
Law of Commerce Art. 
311. 
Decree Law 414/86 
states: 
- Portuguese national 
controlling >50% 
capital/management of 
vessel. Office in 
Portuguese territory. 
- definition 414/86 is in 
line with Community 
law. 2nd Register 
not applicable 
not applicable 
Madeira register: 
- (branch) office in 
Madeira Fiscal regime 
- none specifically for 
seafarers 
- Exemption Social 
Security payment / 
income tax lower tax 
brackets for seafarers, 
- Choice between 
corporate or tonnage 
tax. 
Decree Law 293/91 
Art.30 D: 
- taxation on 30% of the 
profit from the 
transport activity only. 
Source : Merc TecnEcon 
31 
Country 
Spain 
Sweden 
United 
Kingdom Basic principle on 
cabotage 
Restricted 
Regulated in Law 
27/1992 on State Ports 
and Merchant Marine. 
Decree 392/96 allows 
participation REC 
vessels in certain 
trades. 
Restricted 
Closed to foreign 
vessels. 
Not restricted Comment 
• C.R.3 577/92 was 
temporarily suspended 
until February ^4 for 
some industrial main­
land cargoes. 
- Trades have been 
liberalised to EU vessels 
in accordance with CR 
3577/92 since 1.8.95. Waiver system 
-Art. 81 of Law 27/1992 
regulates possibility for 
waivers. 
- During 1995 326 
waivers were issued. 
- Exemptions are granted 
by the National 
Maritime 
Administration in cases 
where no suitable 
Swedish/EU vessel is 
available. 
not applicable Crew nationality requirements 
1st Register 
Captain and 1st officer 
Spanish nationals, other 
crew EU nationals. 
None. All crew retained 
on collective wage 
agreements regardless 
of nationality. 
- For 'strategic' . ship-
types: master British 
national. 
- Other ships in 
accordance STCW 
standards. 2nd Register 
Canary Island Register 
(REC): 
- captain & 1st officer 
Spanish nationals, 
- other crew 50% EU 
nationals, possible 
waiver for non EU 
crew. 
- If involved in non-
liberalised trades all 
crew to be EU 
nationals. 
not applicable 
not applicable Vessel ownership requirements 
1st Register 
Any Spanish company, 
or EU company with 
representative appointed 
in Spain. 
• Governed by maritime 
Act (1891:35). More 
than 50% should be 
owned by Swedish 
citizens or corporations. 
- Government reserves 
right to permit foreign 
ships flying Swedish 
flag. 
Vessel >50% owned by 
British/commonwealth/ 
EU citizen or bodies 
corporate incorporated 
inUK/EU. 2nd Register 
All companies may use 
the REC register, 
provided that a legal 
representative is 
appointed in the Canary 
Islands. 
not applicable 
not applicable Fiscal regime 
Law 19/49 (1994) 
allows fiscal allowances 
for REC register vessels 
and for Spanish 
registered ships 
operating liner trades to 
Canaries: 
- 70% reduction 
employer social security 
contribution 
- 25% deduction in 
calculation base income 
tax seafarers, 
- 35% reduction 
Corporate Tax 
Tax regime revised end 
•93. 
- Shipowners receive full 
rebate of tax paid on 
seafarers' income plus 
additional cash sum of 
SEK 29,000 per full 
time employee for 
social cost 
contributions. 
Only for Shipowners; 
- depreciation allowance, 
• profit tax, 
• credit facilities 
Source : Merc TecnEcon 
32 
Source : Merc TecnEcon 
Country Basic principle on 
cabotage Comment Waiver system Crew nationality requirements 
1st Register 2nd/Register Vessel ownership requirements 
1st Register 2nd Register Fiscal regime 
Other EEA counties 
Iceland 
Norway Not restricted 
Open coastline. 
Not restricted 
- Open coastline. 
NIS vessels in principle 
excluded, but 
permission is given for 
cargo vessels if certain . 
requirements are 
fulfilled. Practically unlimited 
scope for foreign 
merchant ships to trade 
between Icelandic ports. 
Under the scope of the 
Public Transportation 
Act 1976, all operators 
deploying vessels on 
scheduled coastal 
passenger services are 
required to obtain a 
licence from the MOTC 
(also applicable to NOR 
vessels). not applicable 
NIS vessels can enter 
some cabotage cargo 
trades. Such vessels are 
entered on a list of the 
Maritime Directorate. 
The current list contains 
16 vessels, mostly 
highly specialised gas 
tankers. - Since EEA, all EEA 
citizens are eligible 
crew. 
-Under Act 26/1987 
Employment Rights of 
Foreigners, all non EEA 
crew must obtain work 
permit from Miaof 
Social Affairs for 
entering in employment 
on board. 
- None, except master 
must be Norwegian. 
- All crew retained on 
collective wage agree­
ments. not applicable 
NIS register: 
- General requirement for 
Norwegian master. 
However exemptions 
for other nationalities 
are readily available. - Governed by 
Registration of ships 
Act 115/1985, 
previously limited 
registration to Icelandic 
nationals and residents. 
- Amending Act 62/1992 
gives right of 
registration to 
citizens/corporations of 
EEA countries. 
- Norwegian Ordinary 
Register (NOR) 
governed by the 
Maritime 
Transportation Act. 
- Open only to 
Norwegian citizens/ 
residents or unlimited 
partnership where at 
least 60% of ownership 
is by Norwegian 
citizens or the owner is 
a limited company 
where at least 60 
percent of the capital 
and operating powers 
are in Norwegian hands. not applicable 
- NIS register put into 
operation by the 
Norwegian 
International Ship 
Register Act of 12.6. 
1987. 
- Ownership 
requirements as for 
NOR. If nationality 
conditions are not met, 
registration also open to 
limited company or 
partnership with head 
office in Norway, or 
shipowning partnership 
with Norway based 
managing owner, or 
owner with appointed 
representative 
authorised to accept 
writs on behalf of the 
owner. - Seafarers obtain 
following tax privileges: 
- income tax deduction US 
$ 10,4 x 1.49 for each sea 
day. 
- shipowners do not receive 
any rebates/refunds for 
social cost contributions. 
- All crew members serving 
onboard NOR or NIS 
vessels are entitled to 
special tax deduction 
limited to 30% from their 
gross income, but not 
more than NKr 70,000 
pa. Limited to seafarers 
working for a minimum 
sailing period. 
- Tax rebate system from 
1994 providing refunds to 
shipowners of tax paid on 
seafarers' wages. Rebates 
only available for crew 
members resident/liable 
for taxation in Norway. 
Restricted to NOR vessels 
except where entire crew 
NIS vessels fulfil 
residence/liability 
requirements. 
33 
Note: Two of the (former) EEA countries had bilateral and reciprocal cabotage agreements with other EEA and/or EU countries; 
Sweden: with Norway, incl. NIS and some of the EU Member States, 
Norway: with Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, UK and Portugal. 
Source: MERC/TecnEcon 
34 
ANNEX II 
Table A.2 Overview of cabotage developments by EU Member State (mln tonnes) 
Category 
EU 
Member 
Belgium 1984 
1992 
1993 
1994 
1995 
Den- 1987e> 
mark 1992e) 
1993e> 
1994<=) 
1995e) 
Finland 1992 
1993 
1994 
1995e) 
France") 1984 
1992 
1993 
1994 
1995») 
W.Germ. 1987 
-unified 1992 
Germany 1993 
1994 
1995 
Greece 1984 
1992 
1993 DRY BULK 
mainl. 
NA 
x NA 
3.9 
5.25 
4.25 
4.2 
4.1 
0.6 
0.55 
0.7 
0.8 
2.4 
1.6 
1.6 
2.0 
1.9 
0.5 
1.45 
0.95 
0.7 
0.8 
3.0 
3.7 
3.7 islands 
-
3.0 
2.05 
1.9 
1.85 
1.8 
0.55 
0.45 
0.45 
0.5 
0.3 
0.3 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
-
3.55 
4.1 
4.1 LIQUID BULK 
mainl. 
NA 
NA 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
0.5 
0.55 
0.45 
0.5 
0.6 
4.1 
4.1 
4.75 
4.45 
7.2 
6.8 
6.5 
5.7 
5.5 
1.5 
7.35 
6.05 
5.8 
6.15 
6.5 
6.0 
6.0 islands 
-
2.6 
2.65 
2.5 
2.75 
3.2 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 
0.45 
0.4 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.9 
2.0 
2.0 GEN. CARGO 
mainl. 
NA 
NA 
-
-
-
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
0.6 
0.4 
0.4 islands 
-
8.6 
8.2 
9.5 
95 
9.5e) 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
1.2 
0.9 
0.9 
0.85 
0.9 
0.5 
0.5 
0.45 
0.5 
2.0 
2.4 
2.4 TOTAL 
mainl. 
NA 
NA 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
4.4 
5.8 
4.7 
4.7 
4.7 
4.7 
4.65 
5.45 
5.25 
9.6 
8.4 
8.1 
7.7 
7A 
2.0 
8.85 
7.05 
6.55 
7.0 
10.1 
10.1 
10.1 islands 
-
14.2 
12.9 
13.9 
14.1 
14.5 
0.7 
0.6 
0.6 
0.65 
1.8 
1.5 
1.4 
1.5 
1.5 
0.6 
0.6 
0.55 
0.6 
6.45 
8.5 
8.5 TOTAL 
NA 
NA 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
18.6 
18.7 
18.6 
18.8 
19.2 
5.4 
5.25 
6.05 
5.9 
11.4 
9.9 
9.5 
9.2 
8.9 
2.0 
9.45 
7.65 
7.1 
7.6 
16.55 
18.6 
18.6 
xz 
Category 
EU 
Member 
1994 
1995») 
Ireland 1984 
1992 
1993 
1994 
1995 
Italy 1984 
1992 
1993 
1994 
1995e) 
Nether- 1984e) 
lands 1992 
1993 
1994 
1995») 
Portugal 1984 
1992 
1993 
1994 
1995 
Spain 1984 
1992 
1993 
1994 
1995 
Sweden 1992 
1993 
1994 
1995e» 
United 1984 DRY BULK 
mainl. 
4.0 
4.1 
0.05 
0.15 
0.3 
0.1 
0.05 
4.85 
5.4 
5.1 
4.9 
5.6 
0.3 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
8.15 
4.9 
4.25 
4.65 
4.05 
3.55 
3.55 
3.55 
4.1 
4.7 islands 
4.4 
4.5 
-
8.35 
10.8 
17.6 
17.2 
16.55 
1.0 
1.45 
1.25 
0.9 
0.7 
0.5 
0.5 
0.5 
0.5 
0.3 
0.9 
1.2 
0.95 
0.85 
0.95 
1.85 
1.7 
1.4 
1.7 
-LIQUID BULK 
mainl. 
5.0 
4.8 
0.45 
0.55 
0.55 
0.6 
0.65 
7.5 
6.65 
3.75 
4.4 
4.65 
-
3.0 
5.0 
4.3 
4.3 
4.3 
16.2 
11.65 
9.5 
8.15 
9.65 
6.9 
7.15 
7.15 
7.55 
32.5 islands 
1.7 
1.5 
-
21.4 
23.15 
23.9 
25.75 
22.8 
-
0.2 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
5.5 
6.65 
6.4 
8.45 
12.85 
0.1 
0.1 
0.45 
0.15 
30.0 GEN. CARGO 
mainl. 
035 
0.3 
-
4.0 
5.85 
2.1 
2.0 
2.8 
-
-
2.45 
0.3 
035 
0.25 
0.2 
-
-islands 
3.1 
3.2 
-
6.9 
11.65 
7.4 
6.9 
6.5 
0.15 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.2 
0.4 
0.8 
0.8 
1.0 
1.0 
5.1 
9.8 
10.15 
11.05 
12.8 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
8.8 TOTAL 
mainl. 
9.35 
9.2 
0.5 
0.7 
0.85 
0.7 
0.7 
16.35 
17.9 
10.95 
11.3 
13.05 
0.3 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
3.1 
5.1 
4.4 
43 
43 
26.8 
16.85 
14.1 
13.05 
13.9 
10.45 
10.7 
10.7 
11.65 
37.2 islands 
9.2 
9.2 
-
36.65 
45.6 
48.9 
49.85 
45.85 
1.15 
1.65 
1.45 
1.1 
0.9 
1.1 
1.7 
1.7 
1.9 
1.7 
11.5 
17.65 
17.5 
20.35 
26.6 
2.05 
1.9 
1.95 
1.95 
38.8 TOTAL 
18.55 
18.4 
0.5 
0.7 
0.85 
0.7 
0.7 
53.0 
63.5 
59.85 
61.15 
58.9 
1.15 
1.95 
1.85 
1.5 
13 
4.2 
6.8 
6.1 
6.2 
6.0 
38.3 
34.5 
31.6 
33.4 
40.5 
12.5 
12.6 
12.65 
13.6 
76.0 
36 
Category 
EU 
Member 
Kingdom 1992 
(incl. 1993 
offshore) 1994 
1995«) 
EU-12 84/87 
1992 
1993 
EU-15 1994 
1995 
OTHER EEA 
Iceland 1993 
1994») 
1995») 
Norway 1993 
1994») 
1995») DRY BULK 
mainl. 
8.5 
7.4 
8.6 
7.5 
27.65 
31.35 
28.05 
33.8 
33.4 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
8.0b> 
8.0 
8.0 islands 
2.0 
2.0 
4.6 
3.5 
17.6 
22.4 
28.5 
32.35 
30.7 
-
NA 
NA 
NA LIQUID BULK 
mainl. 
26.1 
28.9 
34.7 
42.0 
75.35 
70.65 
66.05 
81.1 
90.35 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 
4.55b> 
4.5 
4.5 islands 
29.7 
23.8 
23.2 
17.0 
60.9 
64.95 
59.4 
633 
58.45 
• 
22.0 
27.0 
25.0 GEN. CARGO 
mainl. 
7.05 
6.6 
2.9 
2.65 
3.35 
0.05 
0.05 
0.05 
1.25W 
1.2 
1.2 islands 
9.0 
9.5 
10.2 
75 
33.15 
43.45 
41.35 
43.45 
423 
-
NA 
NA 
NA TOTAL 
mainl. 
34.6 
363 
43.3 
49.5 
110.05 
108.6 
97.0 
117.55 
127.1 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
NA 
NA 
NA islands 
40.7 
353 
38.0 
28.0 
111.65 
130.8 
129.25 
139.1 
131.45 
-
NA 
NA 
NA TOTAL 
75.3 
71.6 
813 
77.5 
221.7 
239.4 
226.25 
256.65 
258.55 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 
35.8 
40.7 
38.7 
a) Consultants estimate. 
b) Mainland and island trade together. 
c) Includes estimated data, on trade volume, trades area or commodity allocation. 
d) Only European cabotage. 
e) Provisional figures for major ports with total cargo volumes >2 mln tonnes only. 
37 
ANNEX III 
North European coastal fleet") according to register per 1/7/1994 and 1/7/1996. 
country 
Belgium") 
Denmark 
Germany 
Ireland 
Netherlands 
Un.Kingdomc) 
Total EU-12 
Austria 
Finland 
Sweden 
Total EU-15 Number 
1994 
23 
129 
551 
54 
237 
493 
1,487 1996 
17 
127 
373 
49 
248 
470 
1,284 
29 
323 
280 
1,916 1000 GT Tonnage* 1000 DWT 
1994 
78 
199 
650 
95 
450 
1,585 
3,057 1996 
66 
213 
550 
98 
480 
1,734 
3,141 
60 
140 
180 
3,521 1994 
37 
92 
1,040 
130 
602 
972 
2,873 1996 
36 
88 
866 
134 
680 
956 
2,760 
100 
100 
150 
3,110 remarks 
13 cargo and 4 large passenger/ferries 
70 cargo vessels & 57 ferries 
incl. 266 small coasters - 577,000 DWT 
incl. 38 small coasters - 100,000 DWT 
incl. 175 small coasters - 400,000 DWT 
inc. 116 RoRo, 188 coasters, 32 pass. 
all small dry cargo vessels 
incl. 190 small pass.vsl, agr. 27,000 GT 
all extremely small vessels 
a) Vessels < 6,000 GT and all ferries. 
b) Total fleet. 
c) UK owned trading fleet. 
d) contains various estimates. 
South European cabotage fleet per 1/7/1994 and 1/7/1996 
country 
France") 
Greece 
Italy 
Portugal 
Spain 
Total number 
1994 
86 
498 
372 
22 
210 
1,188 1996 
90 
515 
362 
15 
209 
1,191 1000 GT Tonnage') 1000 DWT 
1994 
539 
1,249 
672 
63 
575 
3,098 1996 
510 
1,900 
1,036 
120 
900 
4,466 1994 
713 
440 
569 
83 
784 
2,589 1996 
731 
563 
619 
75 
868 
2,856 remarks 
incl. 18 large RoRo+27 mainland coasters 
incl. 15 cruise+200 ferries+250 coasters 
incl. 140 ferries/hydrof.and 109 tankers 
1 small passenger+14 dry cargo vessels 
incl.25 tankers+54 larger ferries 
total South European cabotage fleets 
a) Contains various estimates. 
b) Excluding some smaller local ferries. 
z* 
ANNEX IV 
Tables 4.1 and 4.2 present overviews of the respective fleets. 
Table 4.1 Fleet developments of DIS register ( 1992-1996) 
Ship type 
Trampers 
Liners 
Tankers 
Pass./ferries 
Other 
Total number 
1992 
237 
86 
100 
6 
44 
473 1994 
228 
98 
99 
7 
46 
478 1996 
215 
93 
90 
6 
44 
448 Tonnage 
1000GRT/GT 
1992 
918 
1,990 
2,160 
84 
56 
5,208 1994 
889 
2,093 
1,567 
122 
66 
4,737 1996 
950 
2,177 
1,979 
136 
75 
5,318 1000 DWT 
1992 
1,555 
2,217 
3,965 
16 
65 
7,818 1994 
1,491 
2,360 
2,740 
20 
75 
6,686 1996 
1,511 
2,483 
3,500 
17 
73 
7,584 
Table 4.2 The fleet of the MAR register ( 1994-1996) 
Shipowners 
Type of Vessel 
General Cargo 
Containers 
Dry Bulk 
Liquid Bulk 
LPG 
Passenger 
RoRo 
Total 1996 
Total 1994 Portuguese 
Shipowners 
N° 
4 
2 
2 
7 
2 
2 
19 
24 DWT 
12.*4 
6.2 
27.8 
545.1 
9.6 
0.9 
602.0 
739.5 Crew 
33 
20 
25 
110 
24 
43 
255 
324 Non Portuguese 
Shipowners 
N° 
27 
7 
2 
2 
1 
1 
40 
11 DWT 
89.1 
85.9 
287.1 
9.0 
0.1 
1.6 
472.8 
724.9 Crew 
230 
77 
35 
21 
4 
11 
378 Total 
1996 
N° 
31 
2 
9 
9 
4 
3 
* 1 
59 DWT 
101.5 
6.2 
113.7 
832.2 
18.6 
1.0 
1.6 
1,074.8 Crew 
263 
20 
102 
145 
45 
47 
11 
633 Total 
1994 
N° 
9 
3 
3 
16 
2 
2 
35 DWT 
29.2 
10.9 
34.1 
1,377.9 
9.6 
2.7 
1,463.4 Crew 
85 
33 
38 
284 
24 
85 
549 
23 
ANNEX V 
Table 3.3 COMPARATIVE NET MANNING COSTS: GENERAL CARGO VESSEL 1,500 GT 
Register Crew Complement 
(number/nationality) 
Officers Ratings Total 
Crew Back up 
factor(l) 
Officers/ 
Ratings Total Manning 
Cost (US$ 
'000/year) Index 
(Ave =100) 
France* 
Belgium* 
Sweden* 
France 
LuxernDourg* 
Finland* 
Spain * 
Norway (NOR)* 
Denmark* 
Iceland 
Ireland* 
Greece 
United Kingdom* 
Germany* 
DIS (Danish crew) 
Italy* 
Spain (Canary) 
Portugal 
Germany (ISR) 
Norway (NIS)* 
Netherlands * 
Portugal (MAR) 
DIS (minimum) 6E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
4E + 2F 
5E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
3E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
3E + 0F 
3E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
3E + 0F 
2E+1F 
3E + 0F 
3E+2F 
1E + 2F 6E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
1E + 5F 
4E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
3E + 0F 
3E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
4E-K)F 
3E + 0F 
3E + 0F 
4E+0F 
4E+0F 
0E + 3F 
0E + 4F 
3E-+0F 
2E+2F 
0E + 4F 12 
9 
9 
12 
9 
11 
11 
7 
6 
10 
8 
12 
8 
6 
6 
9 
11 
9 
6 
7 
6 
9 
7 1.6/1.6 
1.5/1.5 
2.0/2.0 
1.6/1.6 
1.5/1.5 
2.0/2.0 
1.5/1.5 
2.0/2.0 
1.8/1.4 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
1.2/1.2 
1.5/1.5 
1.8/1.8 
1.8/1.4 
1.6/1.6 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
2.0/2.0 
1.7/1.2 
1.5/1.5 
1.8/1.4 1,594 
1,214 
1,068 
895 
941 
768 
724 
720 
707 
645 
642 
620 
•618 
580 
560 
525 
516 
501 
379 
355 
368 
303 
239 237 
180 
159 
133 
140 
114 
108 
107 
105 
96 
95 
92 
92 
86 
83 
78 
77 
74 
56 
53 
55 
45 
35 
AYfraft; 673 100 
(a) Applies to national seafarers only 
E: EU/EEA nationals 
F: Foreign 
*: Based on ISF data 
Source: MERC/TecnEcon 
4"> 
Table 3.4 COMPARATIVE MANNING COSTS: GENERAL CARGO VESSEL 3,300 GT 
Register Crew Complement 
(number/nationality) 
Officers Ratings Total 
Crew Back up 
factor00 
Officers/ 
Ratings Total Manning 
Cost (US$ 
'000/year) Index 
(Ave =100) 
France* 
Belgium* 
Denmark* 
Sweden* 
France 
melen) 
Luxembourg* 
DIS (Danish crew) 
Norway (NOR)* 
Spain * 
Greece 
Ireland* 
United Kingdom* 
Iceland 
Italy* 
Germany* 
Spain (Canary) 
Portugal 
Germany (ISR) 
DIS (minimum) 
Netherlands * 
Norway (NIS)* 
Portugal (MAR) 7E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
4E + 3F 
7E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
3E + IF 
5E + 0F 
3E+1F 
2E + 4F 
5E + 0F 
2E + 2F 
3E+2F 9E + OF 
4E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
3E + 6F 
9E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
8E + 0F 
7E + OF 
5E + 0F 
5E-K)F 
5E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
2E + 4F 
8E+0F 
2E + 4F 
0E + 5F 
0E+3F 
0E + 4F 
2E+4F 16 
10 
10 
10 
16 
16 
10 
10 
9 
14 
13 
10 
10 
11 
13 
10 
14 
13 
10 
11 
8 
8 
11 1.8/1.8 
1.5/1.5 
1.8/1.4 
2.0/2.0 
1.8/1.8 
2.0/2.0 
1.5/1.5 
1.8/1.4 
2.0/2.0 
1.5/1.5 
1.2/1.2 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
1.6/1.6 
1.8/1.8 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
1.8/1.4 
1.7/1.2 
2.0/2.0 
1.5/1.5 2,041 
1,385 
1,267 
1,220 
1,114 
1,107 
1,062 
991 
925 
909 
840 
802 
772 
691 
670 
671 
656 
621 
559 
432 
398 
385 
348 236 
160 
147 
141 
129 
128 
123 
115 
107 
105 
97 
93 
89 
80 
78 
78 
76 
72 
65 
50 
46 
45 
40 
Avpraw 864 100 
(a) 
E: 
F: 
*. 
Source: applies to national seafarers only 
EEA nationals 
Foreign low cost 
bases on ISF data 
MERC/TecnEcon 
fc 
Table 3.5 COMPARATIVE MANNING COSTS: PRODUCTS TANKER 9,000 GT 
Register Crew Complement 
(number/nationality) 
Officers Ratings Total 
Crew Back up 
factor(a) 
Officers/ 
Ratings Total Manning 
Cost(US$ 
'000/year) Index 
Ave =100 
France* 
Belgium* 
Norway (NOR)* 
Denmark* 
Sweden* 
Luxembourg* 
Finland* 
DIS (Danish crew) 
France 
Greece 
Spain * 
Italy* 
Germany (ISR) 
Ireland* 
Portugal 
Spain (Canary) 
United Kingdom* 
Iceland 
Norway (NIS) 
Netherlands* 
Portugal (MAR) 
DIS (minimum) 7E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
4E + 3F 
4E + 3F 
7E + 0F 
7E + OF 
7E + 0F 
4E + 3F 
4E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
4E + 0F 
7E + 0F 
4E + 3F 
7E + 0F 
4E+3F 
2E + 5F 11E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
8E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
6E + 0F 
5E+0F 
11E + 0F 
5E + 0F 
3E + 8F 
3E+10F 
13E + 0F 
10E + 0F 
13E-K)F 
3E+10F 
8E + 0F 
11E4ÛF 
8E-KJF 
7E + 0F 
0E + 8F 
0E + 8F 
5E+6F 
0E + 6F 18 
12 
15 
12 
12 
12 
18 
12 
18 
20 
20 
17 
20 
20 
12 
18 
17 
12 
14 
15 
15 
18 
13 1.8/1.8 
1.5/1.5 
2.0/2.0 
1.8/1.4 
2.0/2.0 
1.5/1.5 
2.0/2.0 
1.8/1.4 
1.8/1.8 
1.8/1.8 
1.2/1.2 
1.5/1.5 
1.6/1.6 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
1.5/1.5 
2.0/2.0 
1.7/1.2 
1.5/1.5 
1.8/1.4 2,223 
1,646 
1,531 
1,503 
1,464 
1,267 
1,213 
1,178 
1,144 
1,129 
1,100 
1,094 
1,180 
941 
878 
864 
861 
854 
821 
739 
617 
546 
476 202 
150 
139 
137 
133 
115 
110 
107 
104 
103 
100 
100 
107 
86 
80 
79 
78 
78 
75 
67 
56 
50 
43 
Average 1.099 100 
(a) Applies to national seafarers only 
E: EEA nationals 
F: Foreign low cost 
* : based on ISF data 
Source: MERC/TecnEcon 
« 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(97) 296 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 07 13 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-97-288-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-21421-3 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg