WRITTEN QUESTION E-0946/02

by Marie Isler Béguin (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(9 April 2002)

Subject: Making sea traffic safe

The wreck of the tanker Erika on 12 December 1999, spilling 28 000 tonnes of fuel oil along the Breton coast, caused massive and irreversible damage to maritime fauna and flora and wrecked the economic fabric in respect of maritime and coastal resources.

'Erika'-type accidental pollution, despite the immediacy of its spectacular scale, represents only a fraction of the discharges of oil into the sea. The bulk of hydrocarbons and other harmful and polluting substances discharged into the sea and its eco-systems are the result of deliberate and therefore criminal degassing or deballasting on the pretext of saving time or money on tank cleaning services. A figure of 2 million tonnes of hydrocarbons dumped illegally and virtually scot-free into the oceans every year is claimed. Officially, the French Assembly estimates that this routine pollution totals 600 000 tonnes every year for the Mediterranean alone, i.e. the equivalent every week! of the damage inflicted on the economy, the eco-system and future generations by the wreck of the Erika.

Can the Council draw up detailed current figures for the availability in the Member States and candidate countries of port facilities and deballasting infrastructure, and likewise the networks for checking and monitoring ships which are required to demonstrate the effectiveness of these installations?

What is the Council's position on the application of strict automatic boarding measures against vessels caught in the act or suspected of illegal degassing activities, and the introduction of a system of deposits, without payment of which these vessels would not be allowed to leave Community waters, thus ensuring that there would be judicial follow-up to these deliberate acts of damage to the environment?

Is the Council convinced of the need for a traceability system for products transported by sea, especially pollutants, capable of establishing that crimes have been committed and ensuring that the perpetrators can be identified?

Reply

(30 September 2002)

The Council attaches great importance to the prevention of discharges from ships of oil and other harmful substances, and considers that the various initiatives taken in recent years to prevent accidental pollution from ships should necessarily be complemented by measures to fight against illegal deballasting or degassing.

As a preventive measure in this respect and in addition to the international instruments that exist in this area, Directive 2000/59/EC on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues(1), which was adopted by the Council and the European Parliament in November 2000, establishes an obligation for all ships calling at a port of

a Member State, to deliver their ship-generated waste and cargo residues to port reception facilities before leaving the port. To this end, the Directive requires Member States to ensure the availability of adequate port reception facilities and that each port shall develop an appropriate waste reception and handling plan. Fees paid by the ships cover the costs of the port reception facilities, including the treatment and disposal of the waste. Furthermore, ships have an obligation to notify, prior to their arrival to the port, the type and amount of waste on board.

Detailed information on the availability of the port reception facilities in Member States and candidate countries will have to await the full implementation of the Directive, which is to be completed at the end of 2002. It is expected that such information will be included in the evaluation report on the operation of the system that the Commission will submit in due time. As regards the enforcement of the system set up by the Directive, Member States must establish penalties for the breach of national rules adopted pursuant to the Directive above-mentioned Directive. In addition, Community legislation on port State control(2) establishes that a more detailed inspection shall be carried out if a ship has been accused of an alleged violation of the provisions on discharge of harmful substances or effluents.

Similarly, the Council considers that strengthened cooperation between Member States, as well as in the wider international framework, is crucial with a view to combating illegal discharges of oil and other harmful substances. In this respect, the Council's common position on the proposed directive on a Community vessel traffic and monitoring system(3) introduces special monitoring obligations concerning ships of which there is proof or presumptive evidence of deliberate discharges of oil in waters under their jurisdiction, establishing that Member States shall communicate to each other information concerning these ships. When adopted, the draft directive will also impose an obligation for a master of a ship to report any observation of a slick of polluting materials. With regard to the transport of pollutants by sea, the proposed Directive introduces particularly strict rules for notification and control.

Finally, the Community has established a framework for the cooperation between Member States in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution(4), with the objective of supporting Member States' efforts in this area. The framework aims at improving the capabilities for response to incidents involving spill of oil or other polluting substances and the prevention of such incidents, as well as the promotion of cooperation in order to provide for compensation for damage in accordance with the polluter-pays principle.

(1) OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 81.

(2) Council Directive 95/21/EC of 19 June 1995 concerning the enforcement, in respect of shipping using Community ports and sailing in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States, of international standards for ship safety, pollution prevention and shipboard living and working conditions (port State control) (OJ L 157, 7.7.1995, p. 1) and Directive 2001/106/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 amending Council Directive 95/21/EC concerning the enforcement, in respect of shipping using Community Ports and sailing in the waters of under the jurisdiction of the Member States, of international standards for ship safety, pollution prevention and shipboard living and working conditions (port State control) (OJ L 19, 22.1.2002, p.17).

(3) Common position adopted by the Council on 19 December 2001 with a view to adopting Directive 2002//EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system and repealing Council Directive 93/75/EEC (OJ C 58, 5.3.2002, p.14).

(4) Decision No 2850/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2000 setting up a Community framework for cooperation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution (OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 1).