WRITTEN QUESTION E-2721/96 by Bartho Pronk (PPE) to the Commission (21 October 1996)

Subject: Health and safety on fishing vessels

1. Is the Commission aware of reports in the Dutch press (e.g. Visserijnieuws of 13 and 20 September 1996) on fatal accidents on fishing vessels?

2. Are there any statistics on accidents on fishing vessels? If so, how many fatal accidents involving European Union seamen have occurred in the last two years, and is there an upward trend? Can the Commission provide a breakdown of causes of accidents?

3. Is fisheries a more dangerous sector than other sectors of the shipping industry?

4. What is the state of application of the directives on health and safety on board fishing vessels? Do these directives help reduce the number of accidents?

5. If the trend in accidents is not downwards, is the Commission prepared to consider additional means of safety on fishing vessels?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (13 December 1996)

1. The Commission is not aware of the reports in the Dutch press referred to by the Honourable Member.

2. Industrial accidents, including accidents on board fishing vessels, are the subject of national statistics in all Member States. As procedures for reporting and recording accidents differ from one Member State to another, national statistics are not accurately comparable. This is why the Commission, since 1992, has been working with the Member States on the preparation of a harmonised system for the collection and processing of industrial accident statistics throughout the Community.

The national statistics at the Commission's disposal do not suggest that the number of fatal accidents in the fishing industry is increasing. For example, during the period 1990-1994 (the most recent figures available), there were no fatal accidents in the Dutch fishing industry (according to the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek). In the Community as a whole, the fatal accident rate in the industry remained stable throughout the period (6,5 per 100 000 persons employed).

Studies of the statistics in relation to the circumstances of accidents in the fishing industry reveal that around half the fatal accidents were associated with the loss of the vessel, while the other half were due to conditions at the workstation or particularly difficult environmental conditions (weather, manoeuvres, noise, etc.).

3. The high rate of fatal accidents and accidents resulting in time off work explains why fishing, together with agriculture, the extractive industries and the building industry, is regarded as a high-risk activity sector meriting specific legislation.

4. The principal objective of Directive 93/103/EEC ((OJ L 307, 13.12.1993. )) concerning health and safety on board fishing vessels is to prevent industrial accident risks, such that effective and equivalent application by the Member States will lead to a reduction in the number of accidents on board fishing vessels.

As relatively little time has elapsed since transposal (the deadline was 23 November 1995), neither the Commission nor the Member States have yet received the information they require to assess the effectiveness of the Community directives on this subject.

5. Article 13(3) of Directive 93/103/EEC requires Member States to report to the Commission, no later than 23 November 1995, on the practical implementation of the provisions of the Directive.

The information contained in the reports from the Member States, together with its own assessment, will enable the Commission to judge whether any further safety measures on board fishing vessels are necessary.

Furthermore, in accordance with its Communication 'A common policy on safe seas' dated 24 February 1993 ((COM(93) 66 final. )), in which it emphasised the need for a Community solution setting up a harmonised safety regime for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over, following the non-ratification at international level of the Torremolinos Protocol on the safety of fishing vessels, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Directive on this subject on 12 July 1996 ((OJ C 292, 4.10.1996. )). This proposal lays down common safety standards for new and existing fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over operating, under any flag, in the internal or territorial waters of a Member State or landing their catch in a port of a Member State. Its requirements relate mainly to design, construction and stability, machinery and electrical installations, fire protection and rescue equipment and are based, wherever feasible, on the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, taking account as far as possible of regional and local features. The proposal also lays down procedures for the issuing of certificates of compliance by qualified bodies, so that the required level of safety is ensured and competition takes place on equal level.