EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/160

(2004/C 84 E/0198)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0084/04

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 January 2004)

Subject: Ban on shipping of oil in single-hull tankers and the use of ‘flags of convenience’

Given that ships flying ‘flags of convenience’ cause loss of life and damage to the marine environment every year and given the intention, expressed in Regulation (EC) No 1726/2003 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 (2) on the accelerated phasing-in of double-hull or equivalent design requirements for single-hull oil tankers, to ban the transport to or from the ports of the Member States of heavy grades of oil in single-hull oil tankers;

can the Commission advise on:

— the measures that have been put in place to restrict, regulate or eradicate the practice of ships flying ‘flags of convenience’ and to bring their owners to account?

— when a full ban on single hull tankers carrying oil in European coastal waters is likely to be put in place and what steps have been taken in this direction so far?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(9 February 2004)

The adoption of the ‘Erika ľ and “Erika II” packages and the progress made with the measures proposed in response to the “Prestige” accident have been key steps in the introduction of effective rules to enhance maritime safety and tackle the problem of flags of convenience. Thanks to these measures, there should be no more room in European waters for substandard ships and rustbuckets.

At international level, the Commission has constantly pushed for and supported efforts by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to establish a flag State code and a compulsory model audit scheme to ensure that flag States fulfil their obligations under international conventions. The determination shown by the Commission and the Member States enabled the IMO to make substantial progress with the framework and implementing arrangements for the compulsory model audit scheme in November 2003.

The Union's arrangements for applying the IMO audit scheme to flag States will be examined as part of the new maritime safety measures the Commission recently announced to Parliament (“Erika III” package).

Regulation (EC) No 1726/2003 entered into force on 21 October 2003. Since that date, single-hull oil tankers carrying heavy oil have been banned from ports and waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States. The Regulation also provides for vessels of this type to be banned outright by 2015 under an accelerated withdrawal schedule.

However, the Regulation does not apply to single-hull oil tankers which pass close to the Union's coasts without entering areas under the Member States’ jurisdiction. At the request of the Commission and the Member States, in December 2003 the IMO amended the Marpol Convention, introducing at international level the double-hull requirements imposed by Regulation (EC) No 1726/2003. IMO procedures mean that the new rules on double hulls will not enter into force until April 2005.

Together with the Union's neighbours, notably the Russian Federation and the Mediterranean countries, the Commission is looking at bringing the new IMO rules into force earlier in order to deal immediately with the risks posed by single-hull oil tankers sailing close to Europe's coasts.

(1) OJ L 249, 1.10.2003, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 64, 7.3.2002, p. 1.