WRITTEN QUESTION E-3593/02 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. EU action to reform the International Law of the Sea — complex legal status of oil tankers.
Date: 2002-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU policy, environmental liability, environmental protection, law of the sea, maritime safety, pollution control measures, prevention of pollution, public international law, tanker

C 161 E/110

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.7.2003

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2003)

The Commission is not at present aware of any application from Spain to host the European Maritime
Safety Agency.

At this stage, the Commission has already implemented procedures which will permit the Agency to
provisionally begin its work as from the beginning of 2003, in Commission premises, pending a European
Council decision concerning the Agency’s headquarters.

(2003/C 161 E/112)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3593/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(13 December 2002)

Subject: EU action to reform the International Law of the Sea (cid:1) complex legal status of oil tankers

It

is clear that

The disaster arising from the wreck of the ‘Prestige’ off the coast of Galicia (cid:1) the latest in a series of six
accidents of this type which have affected Galicia in recent years (cid:1) has once more brought to the fore the
obstacles in the path of effective decision-making with a view to preventing or minimising the effects of
such disasters.
the oceans and the natural environment and the
preservation of the coastal economy and its communities are being seriously jeopardised by the existing
International Law of the Sea and by the legal status of oil tankers (which lie at the centre of a complex
network of interests and nations and flags of convenience,
involving vessel owners, transporters, oil
companies, classification companies and even mafia-type illegal businesses). What political and legislative
initiatives will the Commission take, in the framework of the EU and the international community, to
tackle this problem?

the protection of

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2003)

The Commission communication of 3 December 2002 on improving safety at sea in response to the
‘Prestige’ accident (1) stressed the need for Member States to support Commission proposals aimed at
restricting the right of shipowners to limit their financial liability when an accident is attributable to them
and removing the de facto immunity of the key players in an accident (the vessel charterer, operator or
manager) from compensation claims.

To supplement this measure, the Commission plans to propose a Regulation introducing criminal penalties
for any person responsible for accidental pollution due to serious negligence or to unlawful tank cleaning
operations.

With regard to audits of flag States, the Commission proposes to coordinate measures to combat flags of
convenience by improving the supervision of the maritime administrations and recognised organisations
responsible for inspecting the structural integrity of vessels. The proposal to introduce an audit procedure
was first made at the interministerial conference in Tokyo in January 2002. The idea was supported by the
Commission in its White Paper ‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide’ (2).

In this context, in its communication of 3 December 2002 the Commission urged Member States to work
with it, within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), in order to ensure the establishment of a
code of practice to be followed by flag States, the launch of a pilot project to develop audit procedures and
the introduction of these procedures as a binding IMO instrument.

(1) COM(2002) 681 final.
(2) COM(2001) 370 final.