WRITTEN QUESTION E-0947/02

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

(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 Commission 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 Commission'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 Commission 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?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(29 May 2002)

The Commission shares the concerns of the Honourable Member about operational ship-source pollution, including tank-cleaning operation in Union waters. The Commission has considered that measures, in addition to the international ones, are needed in order to stop the discharges of oil and other substances at sea. For this reason, it made in 1998 a proposal for a Directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues. The Directive, which was adopted by the Parliament and the Council in November 2000(1), shall be implemented by the Member States by 28 December 2002 at the latest.

In essence, the Directive ensures the availability of adequate waste reception facilities in all Union ports and introduces an obligation on ships to deliver their waste ashore. The Directive also introduces an obligation for ships to notify the port of on-board quantities of wastes prior to arrival. This, coupled with port-based checks and appropriate sanctions, will greatly improve the possibilities to control compliance with the international rules. However, at this early stage the Commission does not dispose of the concrete figures as requested by the Honourable Member, since the Directive has not yet been transposed into national law by the Member States.

As regards action against ships involved in or suspected of illegal discharges, the proposed Directive establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (ERIKA II package), requires Member States to exchange information on ships in respect of which there is proof or presumptive evidence of deliberate discharges of oil and to carry out any appropriate inspection on board such ships when they enter a Community port. However, the introduction of a system of deposits or boarding of foreign ships at high seas would meet with many legal, political and economic difficulties and, therefore, is not being considered by the Commission at this moment in time.

The Commission in the aforementioned Directive on traffic monitoring, has also included an obligation for ships to provide information on spotted oil slicks and for authorities to take appropriate action(2). It is expected that this Directive will be formally adopted by the Parliament and the Council in the coming months.

The Commission is currently also exploring other ways to set up a system for monitoring oil spills, including tracking oil based on surveillance and tracking.

Finally, Decision No 2850/2000/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2000 sets up a Community framework for co-operation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution(3). This framework will, in particular, allow the development of joint initiatives such as workshops or training courses in order to improve the techniques for identifying contravening vessels. It will also improve the exchange of information on the efficiency of the prosecution systems applied in the different Member States. This will create synergies at Community level and should ultimately permit the implementation of dissuasive sanctions against the parties responsible for such criminal acts.

(1) Directive 2000/59/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2000 on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues (OJ L 332, 28.12.2000).

(2) Proposal for a Directive of the Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community monitoring, control and information system for maritime traffic, OJ C 120 E, 24.4.2001.

(3) OJ L 332, 28.12.2000.