WRITTEN QUESTION P-0407/03

by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(10 February 2003)

Subject: Classification of the oil tanker Stemnitsa, operating in the Baltic, as an ice class vessel

This winter, the oil tanker Stemnitsa, sailing under the Greek flag and operated by the Greek shipping line Minerva Maríne, has on numerous occasions operated in the Baltic in exceptionally difficult ice conditions. It loads 100 000 tons at a time of Russian crude oil at the new oil terminal in Primorsk, Russia, towards the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland. The tanker has been classified by the American Bureau of Shipping as an ice class vessel, but according to Finnish experts its ice pressure resistance is not sufficient to cope with the particularly demanding conditions in the Gulf of Finland. Mainly on account of Russia's

new oil terminal projects at Primorsk and Vysotsk, the volume of oil transported through the Baltic is expected to double every five years, from 40 million tons at present to 160 million tons by 2010. Environmentally, the Gulf of Finland is a very vulnerable sea area, while socioeconomically it is an important transport route. The Finnish authorities have not found any means of preventing the Stemnitsa and other vessels which present a hazard from sailing through the international waters of the Baltic.

The Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Willem de Ruiter, said in an interview with the Finnish News Agency on 4 February that there were no grounds for the EU to interfere with the Stemnitsa's operations and that there was nothing the EU could do. However, according to EMSA's own home-page, EMSA is intended to contribute to the enhancement of the overall maritime safety system in the Community in order to reduce the risk of maritime accidents, marine pollution from ships and the loss of human lives at sea. According to the regulation establishing EMSA, the Agency has the task of assist[ing] the Commission, where appropriate, in the preparatory works for updating and developing Community legislation in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships, in particular in line with the development of international legislation in that field.

The Commission is a member of Helcom, the Baltic Maríne Environment Protection Commission, and, at the next Helcom meeting of environment ministers in the summer of 2003, it could seek the adoption of a proposal to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that the Baltic be designated a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) and that vessels operating there should meet special requirements as regards ice pressure resistance and being equipped with double hulls. The likelihood of the Commission's being able to exert influence in Helcom and the IMO is enhanced by the fact that, except for Russia, all the coastal states will soon be EU Member States.

1. Will the Commission negotiate with the Helcom Member States on a proposal to the IMO along the above lines, with the aim of securing a decision on the matter at the ministerial meeting in the summer?

2. Will the Commission insert requirements relating to ice class vessels in its proposal for a regulation on double hulls of 20 December 2002?

3. Does the Commission consider the above quotation from the interview with Executive Director de Ruiter to be correct?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(20 March 2003)

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that the news as reported in the press does not necessarily represent the views of the Commission or, in the case in point, of the Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency.

The Commission has pointed out on many occasions that the international law of the sea places great restrictions upon the adoption and implementation of measures the European Union and individual States may take to protect their coastal waters from environmental risks due to shipping. This situation is felt most acutely in respect of the operation of vessels considered to be dangerous in international waters, including those of the Baltic Sea.

That is the reason why the Commission is calling for coordinated action by the Member States to propose and consider options enabling them to take steps to protect their coastal waters, particularly the territorial waters and exclusive economic area, against vessels which pose a risk to the marine environment.

The Commission will support initiatives by Member States within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to impose compulsory shipping routes and restricted zones in application of international rules.

There are no EU rules specifically on operating vessels in ice conditions. Such rules could not, in any case, cover vessels in transit not calling at EU ports. It is, furthermore, hard to harmonise rules which would be appropriate to the specific navigating and weather conditions of each region. In any event, the Commission will fully support

the efforts of the Finnish authorities to come to an agreement with neighbouring countries around the Gulf of Finland regarding safety rules for transporting oil by sea in ice conditions.

As the Honourable Member mentions, the Commission is closely monitoring the work of the Helsinki Commission. In this context, the prospect of designating the Baltic Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) is currently being examined by the competent working groups (Helcom Maritime and Helcom Response).