WRITTEN QUESTION E-3669/02 by Emmanouil Bakopoulos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Tanker accident.
Date: 2002-12-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU waters, maritime safety, maritime shipping, maritime transport, submarine, transport accident

10.7.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161 E/129

In this context, on 20 December 2002, the Commission sent Parliament and the Council a proposal for a
regulatio (2) prohibiting the transport of heavy oil products in single hull tankers leaving or bound for
ports of the Union and to speed up the timetable for phasing out single hull tankers adopted as part of the
Erika-I package.

The Commission has asked Parliament and the Council to examine this text as a matter of urgency with a
view to it being adopted at the Transport Council of 27 March 2003.

(1) COM(2002) 681 final.
(2) COM(2002) 780.

(2003/C 161 E/132)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3668/02

by Emmanouil Bakopoulos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Cause of the wreck of the ‘Prestige’

(18 December 2002)

According to a report in Lloyd’s List of 25 November 2002, on the same day as the tanker the Prestige
foundered, another ship in the same area had spilled its cargo of 200 17-metre long logs into the sea.

According to Lloyd’s List, given the heavy seas that day, it is possible that the Prestige was hit by one or
more logs, creating a hole in the ship’s hull which caused it to founder.

Has the Commission examined the possibility that a previous shipwreck was also the cause of the wreck of
the Prestige with all that that entails?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(7 February 2003)

On 13 November 2002, in the middle of a storm, the tanker ‘Prestige’, en route from Latvia to Singapore,
requested emergency assistance after a large breach opened in its starboard hull. The crew later reported
that the ship had started listing after what they described as a loud noise was heard, as if the tanker had hit
a floating object.

Though aware of the article the Honourable Member is referring to, the Commission would stress that it is
not for it to determine what caused the loss of the Prestige. That is a task for the competent authorities of
the States concerned by the disaster.

The Commission is nonetheless following the investigation into the causes of the disaster very closely.
Accordingly, it is involved as an observer in the ad hoc audit of the American Bureau of Shipping (the
Prestige’s classification society) being conducted by the International Association of Classification Societies.
It is also in contact with the national authorities which have opened enquiries: the Bahamas, Spain and
France.

With a view to the hearing which Parliament’s Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism
intends to hold during March 2003, the Commission will send Parliament an interim report on the
information it has on the accident.

(2003/C 161 E/133)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3669/02

by Emmanouil Bakopoulos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 December 2002)

Subject: Tanker accident

Last month, a tanker belonging to a well-known Norwegian company was involved in an accident when it
was struck by the periscope of a US nuclear submarine (the ‘Oklahoma City’) causing serious material
damage which necessitated repairs. I would recall that a similar accident also occurred last year on the high
seas off Hawaii, again caused by a US submarine, resulting in the loss of nine sailors’ lives.

C 161 E/130

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.7.2003

In view of the fact that this latest accident occurred in European waters, will the Commission say what
measures it took to secure the passage and safety of ships in its waters? In particular, did the Commission
contact the competent US authorities to ascertain the precise cause of this unprecedented accident? Finally,
can the Commission say whether there was any leakage of the tanker’s hazardous cargo?

Answer given by Ms de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2003)

As the Honourable Member recalls, on 13 November 2002 the Norwegian LNG carrier ‘Norman Lady’
very likely struck the periscope of the US nuclear submarine Oklahoma City to the east of the Strait of
Gibraltar.

The company Leif Höegh, which owns the ship, stated that only its double bottom had been damaged and
that the 30 crew members had not been in any danger. Furthermore, there had been no pollution.

In terms of scale, this accident cannot be compared to the collision between the US nuclear submarine
Greenville and a Japanese fishing training vessel, which caused the death of nine sailors off Hawaii in
February 2001.

Following this regrettable incident, the Commission did not make contact with the US authorities and did
not plan to take any specific measures. In fact, it does not have any powers in the field of the navigation of
warships such as nuclear submarines.

Thus, the extensive measures designed to improve maritime safety in European Union waters adopted in
the Erika II package, particularly Directive 2002/59/EC (1) on monitoring maritime traffic, are part of the
legal order established within the International Maritime Organisation and concern only commercial
vessels.

Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the coastal state in charge of monitoring the collision zone and the
authorities of the flag states to determine the causes of the accident and to check that navigation rules
were complied with.

(1) Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a Community
vessel traffic monitoring and information system and repealing Council Directive 93/75/EEC, OJ L 208, 5.8.2002.

(2003/C 161 E/134)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3671/02

by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 December 2002)

Subject: Air pollution caused by ceramics production in Castellón province (Spain)

The EU’s legislation on air pollution is based on the legal definition of air quality values, so as to enable
each Member State subsequently to regulate emission levels with a view to ensuring the prescribed air
quality standards.

In Spain, the legislation on industrial air pollution (except in the case of large combustion plants) is based
on Law 38/1972 and Decree 833/1975, which lay down emission limits that are between three and ten
times higher than the average for the most industrialised Member States (e.g. Germany, France and Italy).

The requirements for complying with these limits is very low for emissions via chimneys and almost non-
existent for fugitive emissions.