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the following Articles shall be inserted: ‘Article 20a Plans for the accommodation of ships in need of assistance 1. Member States shall draw up plans for responding to threats presented by ships in need of assistance in the waters under their jurisdiction and for securing the accommodation of ships and the protection of human life . 2. The plans referred to in paragraph 1 shall be prepared after consultation of the parties concerned and on the basis of IMO Resolutions A.949(23) and A.950(23), and shall contain at least the following: (a) the identity of the authority or authorities responsible for receiving and handling alerts; (b) the identity of the competent authority for assessing the situation and taking a decision on acceptance or refusal of a ship in need of assistance in the place of refuge selected; (c) information on the coastline of Member States and all elements facilitating a swift assessment and a rapid decision regarding the choice of place of refuge for a ship in need of assistance , including the description of environmental, economic and social factors and natural conditions; (d) the assessment procedures for acceptance or refusal of a ship in need of assistance in a place of refuge; (e) the resources and installations suitable for assistance, rescue and combating pollution; (f) procedures for international coordination and decision-making; (g) the financial guarantee and liability procedures in place for ships accommodated in a place of refuge. 3. Member States shall publish the names of the competent authority referred to in Article 19a and the authorities appointed for receiving and handling alerts, as well as their contact addresses . Member States shall communicate on request the relevant information concerning the plans to the neighbouring Member States. In implementing the procedures provided for in the plans for accommodating ships in need of assistance, Member States shall ensure that relevant information is made available to the parties involved in the operations. If requested by Member States, those receiving information in accordance with the second and third subparagraphs shall be bound by an obligation of confidentiality. 4. Member States shall inform the Commission by … (11) of the measures taken in application of this Article. Article 20b Liability and financial guarantee regime 1. Member States shall determine the regime of civil liability for ship-owners and shall ensure that the right of ship-owners to limit their liability is governed by all provisions of the 1996 Convention. 2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that every owner of a ship flying their flag provides a financial guarantee for civil liability in accordance with the ceiling laid down in the 1996 Convention. 3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that every owner of a ship flying the flag of a third country provides a financial guarantee in accordance with paragraph 2 as soon as that ship enters their exclusive economic area or equivalent area. That financial guarantee shall be valid for at least three months from the date it is required. Article 20c Financial guarantee in case of abandonment of seafarers 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that every owner of a ship flying their flag provides a financial guarantee to protect seafarers employed or engaged on board the ship in case of abandonment, in accordance with IMO Resolution A.930(22). 2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that every owner of a ship flying the flag of a third country provides a financial guarantee in accordance with paragraph 1 as soon as that ship enters a port or an offshore terminal under their jurisdiction or drops anchor in an area under their jurisdiction. 3. Member States shall ensure that the system of financial guarantee in case of abandonment of seafarers is accessible, in accordance with IMO Resolution A.930(22). Article 20d Financial guarantee certificates 1. The existence of the financial guarantee referred to in Articles 20b and 20c and the validity thereof shall be proved by one or more certificates. 2. Certificates shall be issued by the competent authorities of the Member States once they are sure that the ship-owner complies with the requirements of this Directive. When issuing certificates, the competent authorities shall also consider whether a guarantor has business operations in the EU. When a ship is registered in a Member State, certificates shall be issued or certified by the competent authority of the State in which the ship is registered. When a ship is registered in a third country, certificates may be issued or certified by the competent authority of any Member State. 3. The conditions for the issue and the validity of certificates, in particular the criteria and conditions for issue, as well as the measures concerning the providers of financial guarantees, shall be determined by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, inter alia by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 28(2). 4 Certificates shall include the following information: (a) the name of the ship and the registry port; (b) the ship-owner’s name and principal place of business; (c) the type of guarantee; (d) the name and principal place of business of the insurer or other person granting the guarantee and, where appropriate, the place of business where the insurance or guarantee is established; (e) the period of validity of the certificate, which shall not exceed the period of validity of the insurance or guarantee. 5. Certificates shall be drawn up in the official language or languages of the issuing Member State. If the language used is not English or French, the text shall include a translation into one of those languages. Article 20e Notification of the financial guarantee certificate 1. The certificate shall be carried on board the ship and a copy shall be deposited with the authority which keeps the record of the ship’s registry or, if the ship is not registered in a Member State, with the authority of the State which issued or certified the certificate. The authority concerned shall forward a copy of the certification file to the Community Office provided for in Article 20i, so that the latter includes it in the register. 2. The operator, agent or captain of a ship entering the exclusive economic area or equivalent area of a Member State in the cases set out in Article 20b shall notify the authorities of that Member State that a financial guarantee certificate is being carried on board. 3. The operator, agent or captain of a ship bound for a port or offshore terminal under the jurisdiction of a Member State or which wishes to drop anchor in an area under the jurisdiction of a Member State in the cases set out in Article 20c shall notify the authorities of that Member State that a financial guarantee certificate is being carried on board. 4. The competent authorities of the Member States shall be able to share the information provided for in paragraph 1 through SafeSeaNet. Article 20f Penalties Member States shall ensure compliance with the rules set out in this Directive and shall lay down penalties for infringement of those rules. The penalties shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Article 20g Mutual recognition by Member States of financial guarantee certificates Member States shall recognise certificates issued or certified by another Member State under Article 20d for the purposes of this Directive and shall consider them as having the same value as certificates which they issued or certified themselves, even when the ship concerned is not registered in a Member State. A Member State may at any time request an exchange of views with the issuing or certifying State, should it believe that the insurer or guarantor named on the certificate is not financially capable of meeting the obligations imposed by this Directive. Article 20h Direct action against the provider of the financial guarantee for civil liability Any request for compensation for damage caused by a ship may be addressed directly to the provider of the financial guarantee for civil liability covering the ship-owner’s civil liability. The provider of the financial guarantee may rely on any defence which the ship-owner himself would be entitled to raise, with the exception of those based on the ship-owner’s bankruptcy or liquidation. The provider of the financial guarantee may also rely on the fact that the loss or damage was the result of an act or omission of the ship-owner committed intentionally. However, it may not rely on any defence which it could have raised in an action brought against it by the ship-owner. The provider of the financial guarantee may, in all cases, require the ship-owner to be joined in the proceedings. Article 20i Community Office A Community Office shall be established which shall be responsible for keeping a full register of certificates issued, monitoring and updating their validity, and checking the existence of financial guarantees registered by third countries. Article 20j Financial guarantee and compensation 1. The absence of an insurance certificate or financial guarantee shall not exonerate Member States from the obligation to make a preliminary assessment and take a decision under Article 20(1), and shall not in itself be sufficient reason for a Member State to refuse to accommodate a ship in a place of refuge. 2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, when accommodating a ship in a place of refuge, a Member State may request the ship’s operator, agent or master to present an insurance certificate or financial guarantee within the meaning of this Directive which covers the liability of such operator, agent or master for damage caused by the ship. The act of requesting the certificate shall not lead to a delay in accommodating a ship in need of assistance. 3. Member States shall ensure the compensation of costs and potential economic loss suffered by a port as a result of a decision taken pursuant to Article 20(1) if such costs or economic loss are not compensated within a reasonable time by the owner or operator of the ship pursuant to this Directive and existing financial compensation mechanisms. ’