WRITTEN QUESTION E-1785/01 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Deteriorating safety at sea caused by under-crewing of ships.
Date: 2001-06-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: crew, maritime safety, pollution from ships, transport accident, transport safety

C 40 E/104

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

During the Monitoring Committee meeting, the Balearic Islands(cid:146) social affairs representative asked whether
immigrants without regularisation could participate in actions subsidised by the Union.

The Chair of the Monitoring Committee, a member of the programme management authority (cid:145)Unidad
Administradora del Fondo Social Europeo(cid:146) (UAFSE), confirmed that actions targeted at immigrants, and
notably actions in the field of social integration and integration in the labour market included in the
Programme Complement, could be implemented while the immigrants were undergoing regularisation.

As to the current period, the Commission(cid:146)s role is defined by Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999
laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1), whose Article 8 is devoted to applying the
(cid:145)principle of subsidiarity(cid:146) pursuant to which implementation of the measures is a matter for the Member
States at the appropriate territorial level.

In the light of the above, and notably bearing in mind the points raised by the Monitoring Committee, in
whose work the Commission participates in an advisory capacity (Article 35 of said Regulation (EC)
No 1260/1999), the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands may implement actions to promote
social integration and integration in the labour market, including the training of immigrants undergoing
regularisation, provided this is compatible with Spanish legislation governing the status of aliens and the
regional regulations implementing these actions.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2002/C 40 E/105)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1785/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(19 June 2001)

Subject: Deteriorating safety at sea caused by under-crewing of ships

1.
Can the Commission confirm that cutbacks on the crewing of sea-going ships registered in EU
Member States has in recent decades led not only to the disappearance of labour-intensive maintenance,
loading and unloading jobs (cid:129) work that on European ships is usually done by crew members from South-
East Asia or the Caribbean (cid:129) but also to reductions in duties involving planning, technology and safety,
typically discharged by nationals of EU Member States?

2.
To what extent do such circumstances as over-tiredness, loss of attention and making way on calm
seas with no crew member on wheelhouse duty contribute to shipping accidents and maritime pollution?

3. Will the Commission endorse the view of the Netherlands Seafarers Trade Union (FWZ) that
European ships are running 10 % short of crew members, and that for safety reasons at least two
additional crew members are needed per ship.

To what extent,

4.
understaffed? Does the rate vary by Member State or is there a general shortfall?

in the Commission(cid:146)s opinion, are shipping inspections by EU Member States

On the basis of what arguments do ship owners oppose the enlargement of crew numbers? Which

5.
such arguments are convincing in the Commission(cid:146)s opinion and which are not?

6. What supplementary measures does the Commission still consider necessary in addition to action
taken subsequent to the Erika accident to ensure that shipping safety is not compromised by under-
crewing?

Source: TV Nederland 1, 3 May 2001, (cid:145)Netwerk(cid:146) current-affairs broadcast

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/105

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(6 September 2001)

1.
The Commission does not have at its disposal the specific data asked for by the Honourable Member.
In its communication of 6 April 2001 on the training and recruitment of seafarers (1), the Commission said
that the number of European seafarers has fallen by 40 % in 15 years. This fall cannot be attributed solely
to the decrease in the number of crew members on board vessels registered in EU Member States. It is also
due to the financial considerations of shipowners who have replaced their Community seafarers with
labour from non-member States with lower wage costs, and also to the fact that young Europeans regard
maritime occupations as less socially and financially attractive than jobs on land.

On the other hand, the Commission considers that the European fleet has shrunk to the benefit of flags of
convenience, and fewer and fewer people want to become seafarers. Accordingly, in order to boost the
employment of Community seafarers, the Commission proposed in its recent White Paper on (cid:145)European
transport policy for 2010(cid:146) (COM(2001) 370) to promote the reflagging of as many ships as possible to
Community registers, taking its inspiration from best practice in the social insurance and taxation fields,
and to study in particular the possibility of (cid:145)tonnage tax(cid:146) type incentives in the next revision of Community
guidelines on State aid to maritime transport.

The Commission knows of some specific accidents where enquiries have shown fatigue or human
2.
error to have been a determining factor, but does not have any general statistical data on the percentage of
accidents that are due to overtiredness, loss of attention or no crew members being on wheelhouse duty.

3.
At present there are no harmonised Community measures governing the number of crew members
required on board ships. This is the responsibility of each Member State. The Commission shares the
concern of the Dutch trade union seeking to ensure that the fall in the number of seafarers on board does
not prejudice maritime safety. However, it is the specific situation of each vessel which counts in each case
and it is not possible to declare from the outset that two additional crew members are needed on each
ship.

4.
The data the Commission has on the number of port State control inspectors in the Member States
show substantial variations from one Member State to another. It is, however, difficult to draw any final
conclusions from this since most inspectors also have other administrative duties, in particular those of
safety inspection as flag State inspectors. However, with annual inspection statistics the Commission has a
very reliable indicator of the efforts being made by the maritime authorities of the Member States. The
Commission has thus found that in the year 2000 four Member States were unable to comply with their
obligation under the port State inspection Directive to inspect 25 % of ships entering their ports in the
course of a representative year. The Commission has instituted infringement proceedings for established
cases of default.

Incidentally, in the framework of the Erika I package the Commission adopted a proposal to amend the
port State control Directive 95/21/EC, envisaging an expansion of the system of detailed inspections of
certain categories of ships,
including oil tankers more than 15 years old. Implementing this measure
should result in an appreciable increase in the number of port State control inspectors in the Member
States from the end of 2003 onwards.

For the reason given in point 3 above, the Commission is unable to comment on shipowners(cid:146)

5.
arguments regarding the enlargement of crew numbers.

6.
The Community clearly attaches particular importance to the human factor, which it considers to be
closely linked to safety at sea. The Commission therefore considers it necessary for the port State
inspections of living and working conditions on board ships (compliance with International Labour
Organisation (cid:129) ILO (cid:129) conventions) to be carried out more frequently and to be better harmonised.

(1) COM(2001) 188 final.