NoC34/10 OfficialjournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 2.2.94
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiveontheMinimumLevelofTrainingfor
MaritimeOccupations (J)
(94/C34/05)
On21June1993theCouncildecided,inaccordancewithArticle84(2)oftheTreaty,to
consulttheEconomicandSocialCommitteeontheabovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforTransportandCommunications ,whichwasresponsibleforpreparingthe
Committee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon10November1993,TheRapporteur
wasMrEtty.
Atits310thPlenarySession(meetingof24November1993)theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction Stateshaveratifiedtheseconventions (3).Unlikethe
IMO,theILOhasanefficientandeffectivesystemfor
checkingcompliancewithratifiedconventions .
1.1.The'humanfactor',humanerrorinparticular,
playsaleadingroleinaccidentsatsea(2).Hencecon­
siderableemphasisisplacedonthisfactor—and
trainingespecially—ininternationalinstruments .The
Committeeconsidersthatpropercrewtrainingcan
makeapositivecontributiontoaccidentprevention.1.5.Astheimplementation oftheSTCWConven­
tionissuchaweakpoint,theCommissionconsiders
itimportantthatthesestandardsbeincorporated in
Communityregulations,supplemented bytherequire­
mentofsufficientlinguisticproficiencyforcrewsof
passengervesselsandvesselscarryinghazardousor
pollutingcargoes.
1.2.Themostimportantinternationalconvention
oncrewtrainingisthe1978IMOConventiononStan­
dardsofTraining,CertificationandWatchkeeping for
Seafarers (STCW).Thisconventionhasbeenratified
bynolessthan93countries.AweakpointoftheSTCW
Conventionthatithasbeenverydifferentlyinterpreted
andimplementedbytheratifyingcountries.Hitherto,
therefore,theIMOhasnothadaneffectivesystem
forsupervisingtheapplicationofitsconvention .Such
supervisionisnotpartoftheIMOmandate.1.6.AsaresultoftheCommission'sinitiative,all
MemberStateswillatleastapplytheSTCWstandards.
Aknock-oneffectisclearlyexpectedfromthesestan­
dards,whicharetoapplytovesselsflyingnon-Com­
munityflagsvisitingCommunityports;especiallythose
crewedbynationalsofnon-Community countries.
1.7.TheinspectionsinCommunityportstoascer­
tainwhethercrewtrainingandqualifications match
STCWstandards (andthelanguagecriterion)areakey
elementinthedraftDirective.Inthisconnectionitmust
bepointedoutthatthe1976ILOConvention147on
MinimumStandardsinMerchantShipshasbeenrati­
fiedbyallECMemberStatesexceptIreland.1.3.AllECMemberStateshaveratifiedtheSTCW
Convention .Itmustbeassumedthattheyactually
meetitsstandardsbutitisunclearhowuniformlyits
requirementsareimplementedintheCommunity .
1.4.Otherrelevantinternational instrumentsrelat­
ingtothetrainingofseafarersincludeILOConventions
53(Officers'CompetencyCertificates )(1936),74(Certi­
ficationofAbleSeamen)(1946),69(Certificationof
Ship'sCooks)(1946),and164(HealthProtectionand
MedicalCareofSeafarers)(1987).MostECMember(3)Convention53(1936)onOfficers'CompetencyCertificates
hasbeenratifiedby8MemberStates(Belgium,Denmark,
France,Germany,Ireland,Italy,LuxembourgandSpain)
Convention74(1946)onCertificationofAbleSeamenhas
beenratifiedby9(Belgium,France,Ireland,Italy,Luxem­
bourg,Netherlands ,Portugal,SpainandtheUnited
Kingdom),
Convention69(1946)onCertificationofShips'Cookshas
beenratifiedby10(Belgium,France,Greece,Ireland,Italy,
Luxembourg ,Netherlands,Portugal,SpainandtheUnited
Kingdom),and
Convention164(1987)onHealthProtectionandMedical
Care(Seafarers)byonlyone(Spain).(i)OJNoC212,5.8.1993,p.1.
(2)InthisconnectionseethecommentsintheCommittee's
OpinionontheCommissionCommunication onaCommon
PolicyonSafeSeas[COM(93)66],point3.6especially.

2.2,94 OfficialjournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC34/11
2.Generalcomments Commission seemstothinkthattheDirectivecouldbe
adaptedbysimplyreplacingthepresentannexesby
newones,i.e.bythevarioussectionsoftherevised
STCWConvention .TheCommitteetakestheviewthat
theannexestothisDirectivehavethesamelegalstatus
asthebodyoftheDirective.HencetheDirectivewill
havetobeadaptedinaccordancewiththestandard
procedure.InthisconnectiontheCommitteewould
alsopointoutthatthe1978STCWConventionis
expresslyreferredtoinboththepreambleandArticle
5.2.2.1.TheCommitteestressestheimportanceofgood,
uniformlyappliedandverifiableinternationalstan­
dardsforthetrainingofseafarers.Theywillundoubt­
edlyhelptoincreasesafetyatsea.TheCommitteenotes
thatitiscommonlyacceptedthatthereisagrowing
shortageofsuitablyqualifiedofficersandratings.It
feelsthatastrongandproperlyimplementedconven­
tionmightcontributetotheattractionandretentionof
suitablepersonnel.
Withthisinmind,theCommitteeendorsesthescope
andthrustoftheCommissionproposal.Nevertheless ,
theCommitteehasanumberofquestions,comments
andsuggestionswhichcouldhelpimprovetheproposal.2.4.TheCommitteeaskeditselfwhetherthetraining
standardslaiddowninCommunityregulationsshould
behigherthanthoseintheSTCW,whichappliesworld­
wide.Itfinallydecidedthattheanswerwasno,inthat
higherCommunitystandardscouldhaveunforeseen
effects.Moreover,theMemberStatesareofcourse
alwaysfreetoimposetrainingstandardsabovethe
minimumstandardslaiddownbytheCommunity .
However,theCommitteewasconcernedthatadopting
theSTCWintoEuropeanlawasabareminimummight
actuallyleadtoareductioninsomeMemberStates'
higherstandards. 2.2.Firstofall,however,theCommitteewishesto
lookattherelationbetweentheproposedDirectiveand
theSTCWConvention .Thisconventioniscurrently
beingrevised,aprocesswhichshouldbecompletedin
1995.ItisexpectedthatthenewSTCWConvention
willcontainanumberofimportantnewelements,
includingcommunication betweenthemembersof
'multinationalcrews'andbetweencrewandpassengers.
Thisistheonlyoneofthenewfeatureswhichthe
Commissionhasincorporated initsDirective.Other
importantelementshavenot,however,beenincluded
intheDirectiveinanticipationoftherevisedSTCW
Conventionin1995,eg.thequestionofeffectivepoli­
cingoftheconvention .TheCommissiondoesnotgive
anyexplanationforthisselectiveapproachandthe
Committeewonderswhythiscoursehasbeenfollowed.
Ifitdoesnotwanttowaituntiltherevisionofthe
STCWConventioniscompleted,whynotincorporate
otherimportantelementsinCommunityregulations
now?PossiblytheCommissionhasspecificpolitical
reasonsforitsapproach,connectedwiththecompletion
oftherevisedSTCWConvention ?TheCommittee
thinksthattheCommissionshouldgivetheCouncil
andEuropeanParliamentaclearexplanation .2.5.TheCommitteewonderswhetherthemeasures
proposedbytheCommissionwilleffectivelyensure
thattrainingonvesselssailingundernon-ECflags
actuallymatchesSTCWstandards.Forthemomentthe
Committeeassumesthatthereisnoreasontobelieve
thatthesecountrieswillrespectagreementswiththe
CommunityanymorethantheprovisionsoftheSTCW
Convention .However,theCommitteefeelsthatsuit­
ableenforcement measures,includingoperational
checksoncrewcompetence (cf.IMOResolutionA681)
byport-statecontrolinspectorsmayleadtoanimprove­
mentinlevelsofcompliance .
2.6.CompliancewiththeSTCWstandardsaslaid
downintheCommissionproposalisverymuchdepen­
dentoneffectivesurveillance .TheCommitteeisaware
thattheCommission istodrawupaDraftDirective
onPortStateControl.Itconsidersthatitisessential
thatthisshouldembracethehumanfactorincluding
standardsofcrewtraining.Inspectorsshouldhaveto
besatisfiednotmerelythatappropriatecertificatesare
heldbycrewmembers,butalsothatthesecertificates
aregenuineandreflectaleveloftrainingtoSTCW2.3.ThenewSTCWConventionwillbereadyshort­
lyaftertheCommissionplanstobringtheDirectiveinto
force(1January1995).TheaimoftheCommission's
regulationsisclearlytoimposethesametraining
requirementsastheIMO.ThismeansthattheDirective
willhavetobeamendedshortlyafter1January1995
asitcannotbeassumedthattherewillbedelaysinthe
ratificationofthenewSTCWConvention .The

NoC34/12 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 2,2.94
shorefishing,commonlyreferredtoasFVSTCW,which
maynowbeastand-aloneconventionratherthana
protocoltotheSTCWaspreviouslyenvisaged.standards.Inspectorsmustalsobeabletocarryout
operationalchecksoncrewcompetencetoensurethat
certainskillscanactuallybeperformed .Inthisconnec­
tionseetheCommittee'sOpiniononaCommonPolicy
onSafeSeas[COM(93)66],point5.1.1,inparticular.
TheCommitteenotedthatitisgenerallyacceptedthat
port-statecontrolinspectorsareempoweredtocarry
outoperationalchecks.3.3.Article3
3.3.1.TheCommitteethinksthatthisArticleshould
beamendedsothatthecategoriescoveredareclearly
understood .Moreover,thetextshouldincludearefer­
encetovariousengineeringofficersandthosecrew
memberswhichhavecargo-handling dutiesforthose
typesofvesselsmentionedintheAnnex.2.7.IftheCommunity istodevelopthestrongest
possiblepolicyonmaritimesafety,itisimportantthat
allMemberStatesratifytheabovementioned ILOcon­
ventions,whichisofcoursetheprerogativeofgovern­
ments.TheCommissioncould,however,inlinewith
therecentopinionoftheCourtofJusticeonthepowers
oftheCommissioninrespectofcertainILOmatters,
cooperatewiththeMemberStatesinexaminingwheth­
er,inthelightofthe(proposed)Communitypolicy,
thoseMemberStateswhichhavenotyetratifiedthe
relevantconventionscanstilldoso.3,3.2.Withregardtotheterm'survivalcraft',see
thecommentin3.1.above.
3.4.Article4
3.SpecificcommentsThisArticleskatesovertheproblemthatundercertain
bilateralagreementsMemberStatesmayrecognizecer­
tificatesissuedinnon-ECcountrieswithouttheholder
havingthenecessaryminimumleveloftraining.Hold­
ersofsuchcertificatescanthenobtainthe'correspond­
ing'certificatefromtheMemberStateconcerned.It
isnotclearhowArticle4canprovidetheintended
guaranteesunderthesecircumstances .3.1.Article1
—Thedefinitionofradioofficerin(i)couldinclude
areferencetotheGlobalMaritimeDistressand
SafetySystem(GMDSS)toreflectthe1991amend­
menttoSTCW.TheCommitteerecommends thatMemberStates
shouldonlyrecognizethird-partycertificatesifthe
CommissionandtheMemberStateconcernedaccepted
thattheyweresubstantiallyequivalentandthatthere
wasdocumentation toshowthattheymetacceptable
quality-assurance standardswithregardtothelevelof
education,thecoursecontent,theexaminationsystem
andthemodeofissuingofthecertificates .
3.5.Article5—Inthedefinitionin(k)theCommissionshould
ensurethatintheEnglish(andpossiblyotherver­
sions)'reddingsboot 'iscorrectlytranslated,i.e'sur­
vivalcraft'insteadof'lifeboat'.Thetextshould
alsomakeitclearthattheresponsibilityforasur­
vivalcraftmaybeanadditionaldutyforcrew
members,includingofficers.TheCommitteethinks
thattheappropriatedefinitioncanbefoundin
Solas,Annex3.3.5.1.Seecommentin3.3.above.
3.5.2.Therearetwoparagraphsnumbered5.2..
3.2.Article2
3.6.Article6
TheCommitteenotesthattheDirectivedoesnotapply
tofishingvessels.Itis,however,veryimportantthat
theCommissionshouldtakeactionsoononthetraining
offishingvesselcrews.ItisknownthattheIMOis
currentlyworkingonanSTCWConventionforoff­TheCommitteewouldrefertoaproposalfromthe
Norwegiangovernmentcurrentlybeingdiscussedin
connectionwiththerevisionoftheIMO'sSTCWCon­
vention,namelytheintroductionofminimumrequire­

2.2.94 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC34/13
mentsformaritimeeducation,trainingandcertifi­
cation,tobemonitoredinternationally bytheIMO(*).
3.7.Article73.9.2.ItissomewhatstrangethatArticle9(2)says
nothingaboutmeasurestobetakenagainstvessels
flyingathirdcountryflagwithcrewsfromoneor
morethirdcountrieswhichhavenotratifiedtheSTCW
Conventionandhavenotconcludedanagreementwith
theCommunity .Itis,however,preciselyonsuchvessels
thatthemostseriousshortcomingsarelikelytobe
found.IntheCommittee'sopinionthisparagraph
shouldmakeitclearthatthestipulatedinspectionswill
notonlycoverthenecessarycertificatesbutmayalso
compriseoperationalchecksoncrewcompetence (cf.
IMOResolutionA681).
TheCommitteeexpressesdisquietabouttheArticle
whichseemsopentovariousinterpretations ,forexam­
ple,noactionshouldbetakenagainstthird-partystates
whichhaveneitherratifiedSTCWnorconcludedan
agreementwiththeCommunity .3.7.1.TheCommitteeregardsthelanguageproblem
asofenormousimportance .Itwelcomesthefactthat
theCommissionhasaddedthiselementtothepresent
STCWConvention,whichisanintegralpartofthe
draftDirective .
3.7.2.ItisofcrucialimportancethattheDirective
stipulatethatallcrewmemberscancommunicatewith
eachotherinacommonlanguage.
3.7.3.TheCommitteedoubtswhetherthelinguistic
requirementsfor'allmembersofthecrewnominated
toassistpassengersinemergencysituations'(1stpara­
graph)arerealistic.Manylanguagesmaybespoken
bythepassengersoncruiseandferryships.However
desirable,theCommission'sobjectiveisprobablysim­
plynotfeasible.
TheCommitteethinksthatAnnex4ofSTCW25)
providesanacceptablewayofdealingwiththismatter.3.9.3.ItappearsthatArticle9(3)wouldrestrict
inspectorstoexaminingcertificatesandindoingso
preventoperationalcheckswhichareprovidedforin
theMemorandum ofPort-StateControl.Thetextcould
thereforehaveanoppositeeffecttothatwhichthe
Commission intends.
3.8.Article8
3.9.4.CategoriesofseafarerscoveredbytheSTCW
ConventionwhoarenotnationalsofaMemberState
andwhodonotpossessthevocationalcompetence
certificatesprovidedforinArticle9.3.shouldnotbe
allowedtoserveonshipsflyingaMemberState'sflag.
(TheCommitteeisawareofthefactthatduringthe
revisionoftheSTCWConventionminimumrequire­
mentsforvocationalcompetenceforallcategoriesof
seafarersarebeingdiscussed.)3.8.1.TheCommitteeconsidersitunnecessaryto
granttheproposeddispensation .AllMemberStates
haveratifiedtheSTCWConventionandmayberegard­
edascomplyingwiththeexistingrequirements .
3.8.2.Forthetranslationof'reddingsboten',seethe
commentsin3.1.above.
3.9.Article9 Dispensationmaybegivenifamutuallysatisfactory
agreementhasbeenconcludedbetweentheMember
Stateandthethirdcountryofwhichtheseafarers
concernedarenationalsprovidedthattheCommission
andtheMemberStatesaresatisfiedonthebasisof
documentary evidencethattheissuanceofvocational
competencecertificatesmeetthestandardslaiddown
intheSTCWConventionandaccordwithrecognized
quality-assurance standards (cf.ISO9000currently
beingconsidered).3.9.1.TheCommitteedoubtswhetherparagraph1
isrealistic.Besidesthegeneralcommentin2.5.above,
itwondershowtheCommissioncanhopetoconclude
'amutuallysatisfactoryagreement'witharoundahun­
dredthirdcountrieswithinareasonableperiod(with­
outsettingupelaboratemachinery).TheCommittee
wouldalsopoint,onceagain,totherevisionofthe
STCWConventionandtheintentiontoprovidethe
required'guarantees'throughthatconvention .Itrec­
ommendsthattheCommissionreviewthisparagraph.
3.9.5.MemberStatesshalltakeallmeasuresnecess­
arytoensurethatshipsflyingtheflagofathirdcountry
areeitherimplementingtheSTCWConventionorhave
certificationprovisionssubstantiallyequivalenttothose
laiddownintheConvention .Wherethisisnotthe
case,PortStateControlinspectorsshouldsatisfythem­
selvesthatthecrewsofsuchvesselshaveanequivalent(*)'Trainingandwatchkeeping—Maritimeeducation,training
andcertification .Introductiononqualityassuranceprin­
ciples'.IMO,MaritimeSafetyCommittee62/INF9
(25.3.1993).

NoC34/14 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 2.2.94
levelofcompetence .Priorityshallbegiventovessels
andcrewsofthosethirdcountrieswhichhaveapoor
recordwithregardtocompliancewithIMOinstru­
mentsingeneralandtheSTCWConventioninpar­
ticular.
3.9.6.MemberStatesshouldtakeallappropriate
steps,includingthedetentionofavessel,iftheport
authoritiesdiscoverinthecourseofaninspectionthatcrewsareunabletoprovideproofofprofessionalpro­
ficiencyforthedutiesassignedtothemonboardthe
vessel,ortheinspectorhasreasonablegroundsfor
suspectingthatthecertificatesareeitherforgeriesor
havebeenincorrectlyissued.TheInspectorshallalso
beabletoformajudgementbyrequiringtherelevant
crewmemberstodemonstratebothcompetencyand
therequisiteamountofknowledgeinanoperational
context .
DoneatBrussels,24November1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiveonCommonRulesandStandardsforShip
InspectionandSurveyOrganizations (')
(94/C34/06)
On11June1993theCouncildecided,inaccordancewithArticle84(2)oftheTreaty,to
consulttheEconomicandSocialCommitteeontheabovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforTransportandCommunications ,whichwasresponsibleforpreparingthe
Committee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon10November1993.TheRapporteur
wasMrWhitworth .
Atits310thPlenarySession(meetingof24November1993)theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.IntroductionandBackground 1.2.TheseConventions ,whichformthebasisof
internationalstandardsforthedesignandconstruction
ofships,safetyoflifeandpollutionprevention,are:
—theInternationalConventionforSafetyofLifeat
Sea(SOLAS1974);
—theInternational ConventiononLoadLines(LLC
1966);
—theInternational Convention onMarinePollution
(MARPOL1973/1978)
togetherwiththeprotocolsandamendmentsthereto.1.1.ThisproposalformspartoftheCommission's
Actionprogrammeannexedtoitsdocumentsettingout
ACommonPolicyonSafeSeas[COM(93)66final].It
seekstoestablish,bymeansofadraftDirective,com­
moncriteriaofadequateminimumstandardsforthose
organizations towhichMemberStates(andother
countriesoutsidetheCommunity )delegateauthority
toundertakestatutorysurveysandcertificationofcom­
pliancewithcertaininternationalmaritimeConven­
tionsandrelatedProtocols,CodesandResolutions .
1.3.UnderthetermsoftheseConventions national
governmentsareresponsibleforensuringthatships (')OJNoC167,18.6.1993,p.13.