WRITTEN QUESTION E-3251/00

by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 October 2000)

Subject: Community penalties for dumping of oil at sea

The disastrous aftermath of the dumping of oil into the sea from a tanker has proved a full-scale ecological and economic catastrophe for the Spanish Costa del Sol and its tourist industry.

The irresponsible attitude of tanker owners who practise dumping off the coasts of the Union's tourist regions without considering the damage caused should be punished with particular severity by the EU authorities, in order to protect both our beaches' ecosystems and the economic interests of those tourist regions, especially during the summer high season.

Can the Commission state whether it believes that the existing Community legislation on this matter is sufficient to deter tanker owners from practising dumping off the coasts of the Union's tourist regions?

Should this not be the case, can the Commission state what new provisions of Community law it intends to propose and whether there is any Community-level coordination of police controls in this area?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(5 December 2000)

The Commission is greatly concerned about operational pollution, including tank-cleaning operations in Community waters, which represents a large part of the total marine oil pollution.

Various international measures regarding construction and operation of oil tankers (mainly through the Marpol 73/78 Convention) have significantly reduced the need for and benefits of discharge of cargo residues at sea during the last decades. The application of these international rules is controlled in Community ports through port state control under 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 working conditions (port state control)(1).

However, the Commission considered that additional measures were needed in order to stop the discharges of oil and other substances at sea. For this reason, it proposed in 1998 a Council Directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues(2).

Much of the operational pollution from all types of ships in Community waters results from the inability in some ports to deliver cargo residues and ship generated wastes to shore facilities and from reluctance of ships to use them. The directive addresses this particular problem and introduces a number of requirements on both ports and ships to ensure that adequate facilities are available in all Community ports and that they are utilised by ships. The Directive is now adopted by the Parliament and the Council and will become applicable 24 months after its publication in the Official journal.

The rules on reception facilities, waste management planning, financial and other incentives to deliver waste ashore will greatly reduce the need for discharges at sea. The Directive also imposes an obligation for ships to notify the port of on-board quantities of wastes and residues. This, coupled with port-based checks, will greatly improve the ability to control compliance with the international rules. The Commission is confident that the Directive will have a considerable effect on reducing operational pollution, and in particular oil pollution from all types of ships.

The control of illegal discharges at sea is the responsibility of Member States. However, co-operation in the response to such incidents is subject to Community rules. A new decision of the Parliament and of the Council setting up a Community framework for cooperation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution(3) should soon be finalised. This decision, once adopted, will in particular allow the development of joint initiatives such as workshops or training courses aiming to strengthen the measures taken by Member States against illicit operational spills from vessels.

Finally, the Commission announced in its communication on the safety of the seaborne oil trade(4) that it plans to examine other Community initiatives that could be taken to reduce the occurrence of operational pollution by all types of ships.

(1) OJ L 157, 7.7.1995.

(2) OJ C 271, 31.8.1998.

(3) OJ C 25, 30.1.1999.

(4) COM(2000) 142 final.