WRITTEN QUESTION E-2643/03 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Sinking of the Danish cargo ship Karin Cat caused by a shift of the cargo.
Date: 2003-09-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, European Maritime Safety Agency, competence of the Member States, maritime safety, maritime transport, report, transport accident

13.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 65 E/183

What steps has the Commission taken or does it intend to take to ensure that the Chinese authorities meet
their obligations and act upon Unesco’s requests? Does it intend to suspend funding for all projects in
Tibet
to act on the requests made by the international
community regarding the protection and conservation of Tibetan culture and heritage?

the Chinese authorities continue to fail

if

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(3 October 2003)

Protection of the rights of minorities and, in particular their cultural identity, is one of the topics regularly
raised by the European Union in its bilateral human rights dialogue with China. The European Union will
continue to use this process to put forward its viewpoint to the Chinese authorities.

The Commission has always taken steps to ensure that the cooperation programmes implemented in the
autonomous region of Tibet serve first and foremost the interests of the local Tibetan population which is
itself concerned for the European Union to have a presence in the region. The Commission therefore
considers that any interruption in these programmes would inevitably have a negative impact on the local
population.

(2004/C 65 E/200)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2643/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Subject: Sinking of the Danish cargo ship ‘Karin Cat’ caused by a shift of the cargo

1.
On 18 February 2003, the Danish cargo ship ‘Karin Cat’, with seven crew members on board, sank
in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek coast. Fortunately, the crew managed to abandon ship before it
sank and were picked up by the Malaysian vessel ‘Bunga Pelangi Dua’. The Danish Maritime Authority
published a report on the accident on 29 July 2003. Is the Commission aware of this report?

2.
Cargo was loaded onto the ship at a number of ports. One of these ports was Antwerp, where,
among other cargo, two 18-metre loading arms and two smaller, 13-metre loading arms were loaded onto
the ‘Karin Cat’. The Danish Maritime Authority report states that the securing of the load in the Port of
Antwerp was carried out by the crew of the ‘Karin Cat’. Can the Commission confirm this?

The report goes into the possible causes of the accident in some detail. It states that the shift of the loading
arms mentioned above caused a hole in the hull of the ‘Karin Cat’, through which so much water poured
into the hull that the ship sank. According to the report, the reason for the shift of the cargo was that it
had been insufficiently secured to withstand the movement of the vessel during the prevailing rough sea
(see the conclusion on page 20 of the report).

3.

Can the Commission confirm that this conclusion is drawn in the Danish Maritime Authority report?

Answer given by Ms de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(14 October 2003)

The Commission has not received any specific information concerning the sinking of the Danish cargo
ship ‘Karin Cat’ on 18 February 2003.

Furthermore, it is not for the Commission to comment on the conclusions of the post-accident technical
investigation conducted by the Danish authorities. This type of investigation is a matter for the national
authorities responsible for determining the exact circumstances of accidents, in order where necessary to
formulate proposals for amending the regulations.

C 65 E/184

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

13.3.2004

In this regard, Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June
2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency (1) stipulates that one of the tasks of that body is to
facilitate cooperation between the Member States in the development of a common methodology for
investigating accidents and to support national authorities responsible for serious accident investigations.

(1) OJ L 208, 5.8.2002.

(2004/C 65 E/201)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2644/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Subject: Preventing accidents by using skilled workers to load seagoing vessels

1.
Does the Commission agree that the sinking of the Danish cargo vessel ‘Karin Cat’ demonstrates the
substantial risks associated with the loading of ships that everything must therefore be done to ensure the
safety of the crew as well as of the cargo and that a fundamental condition of this is that cargo should be
loaded and secured in an expert manner by skilled dock workers?

2.
Can the Commission explain why, despite the fact that Belgium’s Major Act explicitly prohibits dock
work being carried out by non-dock workers, this is in fact what happened in this case, and does the
Commission foresee the possibility of taking steps against the infringement of this national legislation?

Does the Commission feel that the infringement of this legislation has consequences in terms of

3.
responsibility for the accident?

4.
Has this sequence of events encouraged the Commission, in the interests of crew and vessel safety, to
rethink its position, which advocates the possibility of ‘self-handling’ of cargo by a ship’s crew, either in
connection with the port services directive currently in conciliation or by some other means, and to
tighten up the rules rather than to relax them? If so, how is the Commission going about this? If not, why
not?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(21 October 2003)

The Commission wishes to refer the Honourable Member to the answer it provided to him on question
E-2643/03 (1).

The Commission would also like to draw the attention of the Honourable Member to the fact that the
safety and health of workers at workplace is covered by the relevant Community Directives, notably the
Framework Directive 89/391/EEC (2) and, inter alia, the individual Directives 89/655/EEC (3), 89/656/EEC (4)
and 90/269/EEC (5).

According to these Directives, the employer is responsible for ensuring the safety and health of workers in
every aspect related to the work and shall establish a risk assessment and take the necessary preventive
measures.

Member States must transpose the Directives to national law and it is up to them to ensure adequate
controls and supervision.

Moreover, the Commission wishes to recall that the proposed Directive on Market Access to Port Services,
currently in the concluding stages of the conciliation procedure, foresees that self-handling could only be
allowed to be carried out by seafaring crews, only if the criteria requested by providers of similar services
in a port are respected.