WRITTEN QUESTION P-0407/03 by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Classification of the oil tanker Stemnitsa, operating in the Baltic, as an ice class vessel.
Date: 2003-02-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Baltic Sea, Finland, International Maritime Organisation, environmental protection, law of the sea, maritime safety, maritime shipping, oil pollution, prevention of pollution, ship's passport, tanker, the EU's international role

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Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 March 2003)

Following Article 6, Paragraph 3, of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of
natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (1) (‘Habitats Directive’), which, pursuant to its Article 7, also
applies to Special Protection Areas (SPAs) classified under Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979
on the conservation of wild birds (2), any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the
management of such a site but likely to have a significant effect thereon shall be subject to appropriate
assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site’s conservation objectives.

The SPA ‘IJmeer’ has a total area of ca 7 400 hectares (ha). The planned building project mentioned by the
Honourable Member will directly affect an area of about three hectares within the Special Protection Area.
In order to be able to decide whether or not the full protection regime under Article 6, paragraphs 3 and 4,
of Directive 92/43/EEC applies to this project, it must indeed be investigated if the project is likely to have
a significant effect on the site. This investigation will have to be carried out by the Dutch authorities. The
information provided by the Honourable Member does not allow by itself to conclude if any significant
effects are likely to occur or not.

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.
(2) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(2003/C 242 E/133)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0404/03

by Brian Simpson (PSE) to the Commission

(17 February 2003)

Subject: Transport infrastructure charging

Can the Commission indicate when the communication on infrastructure charging within the transport
sector will be submitted to Parliament?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(12 March 2003)

A draft Communication is currently being finalised within the Commission. This draft Communication
comprises three parts: a common methodology for infrastructure charging, a new approach for financing
of
for a
Directive on interoperability of electronic road charging. The Communication is planned to be presented
to the Parliament this Spring.

including public-private partnerships and a proposal

the Trans-European Networks (TENs)

(2003/C 242 E/134)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0407/03

by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(10 February 2003)

Subject: Classification of the oil tanker Stemnitsa, operating in the Baltic, as an ice class vessel

This winter, the oil tanker Stemnitsa, sailing under the Greek flag and operated by the Greek shipping line
Minerva Maríne, has on numerous occasions operated in the Baltic in exceptionally difficult ice conditions.
It loads 100 000 tons at a time of Russian crude oil at the new oil terminal in Primorsk, Russia, towards
the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland. The tanker has been classified by the American Bureau of Shipping
as an ice class vessel, but according to Finnish experts its ice pressure resistance is not sufficient to cope
with the particularly demanding conditions in the Gulf of Finland. Mainly on account of Russia’s new oil

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terminal projects at Primorsk and Vysotsk, the volume of oil transported through the Baltic is expected to
double every five years, from 40 million tons at present to 160 million tons by 2010. Environmentally,
the Gulf of Finland is a very vulnerable sea area, while socioeconomically it is an important transport
route. The Finnish authorities have not found any means of preventing the Stemnitsa and other vessels
which present a hazard from sailing through the international waters of the Baltic.

The Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Willem de Ruiter, said in an
interview with the Finnish News Agency on 4 February that there were no grounds for the EU to interfere
with the Stemnitsa’s operations and that there was nothing the EU could do. However, according to
EMSA’s own home-page, EMSA is intended to ‘contribute to the enhancement of the overall maritime
safety system in the Community in order to reduce the risk of maritime accidents, marine pollution from
ships and the loss of human lives at sea’. According to the regulation establishing EMSA, the Agency has
the task of ‘assist[ing] the Commission, where appropriate, in the preparatory works for updating and
developing Community legislation in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships, in
particular in line with the development of international legislation in that field.’

The Commission is a member of Helcom, the Baltic Maríne Environment Protection Commission, and, at
the next Helcom meeting of environment ministers in the summer of 2003, it could seek the adoption of a
proposal to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that the Baltic be designated a Particularly
Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) and that vessels operating there should meet special requirements as regards ice
pressure resistance and being equipped with double hulls. The likelihood of the Commission’s being able to
exert influence in Helcom and the IMO is enhanced by the fact that, except for Russia, all the coastal states
will soon be EU Member States.

1. Will the Commission negotiate with the Helcom Member States on a proposal to the IMO along the
above lines, with the aim of securing a decision on the matter at the ministerial meeting in the summer?

2. Will the Commission insert requirements relating to ice class vessels in its proposal for a regulation
on double hulls of 20 December 2002?

Does the Commission consider the above quotation from the interview with Executive Director de

3.
Ruiter to be correct?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(20 March 2003)

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that the news as reported in the press does not
necessarily represent the views of the Commission or, in the case in point, of the Executive Director of the
European Maritime Safety Agency.

The Commission has pointed out on many occasions that the international law of the sea places great
restrictions upon the adoption and implementation of measures the European Union and individual States
may take to protect their coastal waters from environmental risks due to shipping. This situation is felt
most acutely in respect of the operation of vessels considered to be dangerous in international waters,
including those of the Baltic Sea.

That is the reason why the Commission is calling for coordinated action by the Member States to propose
and consider options enabling them to take steps to protect their coastal waters, particularly the territorial
waters and exclusive economic area, against vessels which pose a risk to the marine environment.

The Commission will support initiatives by Member States within the International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) to impose compulsory shipping routes and restricted zones in application of international rules.

There are no EU rules specifically on operating vessels in ice conditions. Such rules could not, in any case,
cover vessels in transit not calling at EU ports. It is, furthermore, hard to harmonise rules which would be
appropriate to the specific navigating and weather conditions of each region.
the
Commission will fully support the efforts of the Finnish authorities to come to an agreement with

In any event,

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neighbouring countries around the Gulf of Finland regarding safety rules for transporting oil by sea in ice
conditions.

As the Honourable Member mentions, the Commission is closely monitoring the work of the Helsinki
Commission. In this context, the prospect of designating the Baltic Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area
(PSSA) is currently being examined by the competent working groups (Helcom Maritime and Helcom
Response).

(2003/C 242 E/135)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0417/03

by Catherine Stihler (PSE) to the Commission

(17 February 2003)

Subject: Availability of research grants in aquaculture

The UK statutory body responsible for regulating and developing the seafish industry (cid:1) the Seafish
Industry Authority (cid:1) has decided to sell or close their aquaculture research plant at Ardtoe, Ardnamur-
chan, Scotland. The timing of the announcement seems most unfortunate given the huge reduction in
research both on reducing the
wild-caught cod and haddock quotas, and the need for
environmental impacts of aquaculture and diversification into species now threatened in the wild.

further

Could the Commission inform us on the availability of research grants in aquaculture?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(31 March 2003)

In general terms, European research, including on aquaculture, is supported by Commission through the
Research Framework Programmes.

Under the Sixth Framework Programme, research in aquaculture is covered by Thematic Priority 5 ‘Food
quality and safety’, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) specific measures, and in particular
Priority 8, ‘Scientific support to policy’.

Under priority 5, issues related to the quality and safety of aquaculture products, relying on fully controlled
and integrated production systems, are included.

SME’s specific research activities are designed to expand the knowledge base of large communities of SMEs
(collective research) and to meet specific problems or needs of a more limited number of SMEs by
performing transnational Research and Technological Development (R & TD) projects (cooperative research
(cid:1) CRAFT).

The objectives of policy-oriented research under Priority 8 are defined to support the Common Fisheries
Policy including issues related to the improvement of health and environmental standards of aquaculture
production.

It should be noted that Community funding is granted on a project basis, and can not guarantee the long-
term operation of research facilities.

information related to the Sixth Framework Programme is available at: http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/

All
home.cfm.

training and transfer of
Moreover, Concerning fellowships,
knowledge fellowship schemes within the Human Resource and Mobility actions (Marie Curie Actions) of
the framework programme. All of these actions are ‘bottom-up’, i.e. they are open to all fields of research,
whether or not within the ‘priority areas of the framework programme’. Information of Marie Curie
actions is available at: http://europa.eu.int/mariecurie-actions.

there are a number of possibilities of