EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 23.8.2005 
COM(2005) 379 final 
2003/0291 (COD)   
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
 
pursuant to the second subparagraph of  Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 
 
concerning the 
common position of the Council on the adop tion of a Regulation of the European 
Parliament and of the Council on the impl ementation of the In ternational Safety 
Management (ISM) Code within the Community 
 
EN 2   EN 2003/0291 (COD) 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
 
pursuant to the second subparagraph of  Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 
 
concerning the 
common position of the Council on the adop tion of a Regulation of the European 
Parliament and of the Council on the impl ementation of the In ternational Safety 
Management (ISM) Code within the Community 
1 BACKGROUND  
Date of transmission of the proposal  to the European Parliament and 
the Council  (document COM(2003) 767 final –2003/0291 (COD)): 11.12.2003 
Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social 
Committee: 30.06.2004 
Date of the opinion of the European  Parliament at first reading: 10.03.2004 
Date of adoption of the common position: 18-7-2005 
2 PURPOSE
 OF THE  COMMISSION  PROPOSAL 
The proposal is intended to in corporate the International Sa fety Management Code into 
European Union law.  
Following the Estonia accident, on 8 December 1995 the Council adopted Regulation (EC) 
No 3051/95 of 8 December 1995, which was limited to the safety management of roll-on/roll-
off passenger ferries. 
Since the ISM Code now applies mandatorily to all types of ship engaged in international 
transport, the aim of the Commission’s proposal  is to replace Council Regulation No 3051/95 
by a general regulation. In pract ice, the purpose of the draft is  to apply the ISM Code, in 
accordance with the Code’s basic philosophy of  a global approach, to companies operating 
any type of ship flying the flag of a Member State of the Community as well as to ships, 
whatever their flag, operating domestic servi ces within the EU and to roll-on/roll-off 
passenger ferries operating on a regular servi ce to or from European Union ports.  
The aim of the proposed Regulation is to improve  the safety management and the safety of 
operation of ships engaged in domestic and international voyages an d the prevention of 
maritime pollution from them. It also aims to introduce the amendments made to the ISM Code, which supplement the provisions on the validity of certificates of compliance and of 
interim certificates and the form of the certifica tes. These amendments entered into force on 
1 July 2002 in the framework of the SOLA S Convention (IMO Resolution (MSC.104 (73)). 
 
EN 3   EN In addition, the draft provides for compulsory  monitoring, an annual report to the Commission 
and the establishment of a system of  sanctions by the Member States. 
3 COMMENTS  ON  THE  COMMON  POSITION   
Although the European Parliament adopted the proposal without report and without 
amendment, the Council made a number of changes which alter ne ither the aims nor the spirit 
of the proposal. 
- Definitions 
The changes introduced by the common position ar e intended to broaden the scope of the 
draft Regulation to cover other vessels, such as  high-speed craft, mobile drilling platforms and 
tourist submarines, and the gross tonnage of ships.  
From this point of view the common position ma kes the definitions of the various legislative 
acts in force more coherent. 
- Scope 
The Commission’s draft differentiated between each type of ship, with reference to the 
nationality of the flag or appl ication to all flags, and the kind of voyage (international or 
domestic) being made.  
The common position puts ships flying the flag of a Member State and thos e flying the flag of 
a third country on an equal foo ting when they are operated on a regular service or as cargo 
ships or passenger ships.  
- Safety management requirements 
The common position establishes a link betwee n the scope and the pr ovisions of the Code 
applicable to it.  
- Certification and verification  
The draft Regulation provided for two different  articles (Articles 5 and 6). The common 
position deals with them in a single article, de leting all the provisions which were already in 
Part B of Annex II, and givi ng a reference to that Annex. 
- Safeguard procedure 
The draft included the procedure in Regul ation (EC) No 3051/95. The common position 
deletes this article, which has never been used in practice.  
- Derogations  
This provision did not exist in the draft Regulation. The aim is to reduce administrative costs 
for small shipping companies and certain ships operating exclusively on domestic voyages by 
enabling them to be fully or partially exempt ed from certain provisions of the ISM Code 
(section 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 of Part A), while safeguarding the principles of the Code. 
 
EN 4   EN The common position provides that  Member States must notify the Commission in advance of 
the equivalent national measures (Article 5a) and the applicable procedure for approval by the 
Commission. 
- Validity, acceptance and recognition of certificates 
These provisions did not exist as  such in the draft Regulation, but appeared in the provisions 
which were recast during the negotiations  with the Council (Articles 5 et 6). 
The common position places the verification of validity, acceptance and recognition of the 
certificates of ships flying the fl ag of a Member State on the sa me footing as for ships flying 
the flag of a third country.  
- Committee procedure 
The common position no longer applies the committ ee procedure to the question of the period 
of validity of certificates.  
- Entry into force 
The common position delays the entry into fo rce of the Regulation by one year for ships 
which are not yet covered by the ISM Code (i.e . ships other than ro ll-on/roll-off passenger 
ships operating on domestic voyages). The provisions  will therefore apply to them two years 
after its entry into force.  
4 CONCLUSIONS 
The Commission recognises that the common position alters neither the aims nor the spirit of 
the proposal and is therefore able to accept it.