WRITTEN QUESTION E-3541/03 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. US ghost ships moored in the UK.
Date: 2003-11-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: United Kingdom, United States, environmental law, export of waste, maritime safety, warships, waste management

C 78 E/822

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

development of new water policies through the Expert Advisory Fora which were established in 2001.
In this respect, the Expert Advisory Forum on Groundwater successfully finalised its work in June 2003
and enabled the Commission to present its proposal on 19 September 2003 (1).

Six meetings of the Expert Advisory Forum on Priority Substances have already taken place from March
2001 to November 2003. The preparatory work is still ongoing and the next meeting is scheduled for
8 March 2004.

(1) COM(2003) 550 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0875)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3518/03

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(25 November 2003)

Subject: Bioptic driving

1. Will the Commission outline the minimum vision standards (including acuity and vision fields) for
driving licensure stipulated by EU regulation?

2. Will it also outline the specific vision standards (that go beyond the EU minimum) for each Member
State?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(15 January 2004)

1.
The minimal vision requirements for obtaining a driving licence can be found in Article 6 of
Annex III of Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 (1). The Commission does not anticipate
proposing any revisions to this Directive on the question of minimum vision standards.

All Member States have introduced visual

2.
requirements that correspond with the minimum
requirements of the above mentioned Directive. As the Honourable Member has been informed of in the
Commission’s reply to his previous questions E-1231/03 (2), E-2568/03 (3) and E-2569/03 (4), a special
working group for vision has been established in 2003 which plans to screen the legislation/actual
situation in the different Member States during the coming year 2004. The results of this examination will
be made public by the Commission as soon as they are available.

(1) OJ L 237, 24.8.1991.
(2) OJ C 58 E, 6.3.2004, p. 52.
(3) OJ C 58 E, 6.3.2004, p. 181.
(4) See page 129.

(2004/C 78 E/0876)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3541/03

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(28 November 2003)

Subject: US ‘ghost ships’ moored in the UK

Under its responsibilities for the application of environmental and transport legislation, what is the
position of the Commission on the risks posed by the four ships from the US Reserve Fleet, known as the
ghost fleet, which are now moored at and in transit to Hartlepool?

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/823

What is the Commission’s position on the legality of US ghost ships being transported to the UK,
particularly in relation to the age and condition of the vessels and the oil, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
and asbestos within their structures?

What is the Commission’s position on the legality of US ghost ships being dismantled in the UK,
particularly in relation to the disposal of asbestos?

Does the Commission have any powers to ensure that the ghost ships are returned to the US at the earliest
opportunity, and if so what steps has the Commission taken?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(22 January 2004)

The Commission is currently investigating a complaint filed against the United Kingdom in relation to the
shipment of four end-of-life ships from the United States to the United Kingdom for recovery in order to
find out whether obligations under the Community Waste Shipment Regulation and other pieces of
Community environmental legislation were complied with.

Under the 1993 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) agreement on
shipments of waste destined for recovery (cid:1) which is implemented into Community legislation in the
Waste Shipment Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 (1) (cid:1) all waste destined for recovery can travel almost freely
within the OECD area. The only requirement is that a shipment is notified in advance to the competent
authorities of dispatch, destination and transit and that it is consented to by these authorities. It is
therefore the decision of these individual authorities/Member States to assess and consider if they have the
necessary facilities and capacity to receive and treat the end of life ships which were subject to notification.

In the framework of the correspondence between the Commission and the United Kingdom authorities, the
latter informed the Commission that the notification of shipment which was issued is invalid since the
receiving facility does not possess all the necessary permits. They also informed the Commission that the
ships would be returned to the United States provided that their state and weather conditions allow for an
environmentally safe transportation. Therefore, there is currently no recovery operation envisaged in the
United Kingdom (with the exception of the temporary storage of these ships pending their return to the
United States) and at this stage, it is obsolete to assess the original notification. Should the United Kingdom
authorities take any decision about further handling of the ships, the Commission will investigate whether
they are in line with obligations under
the Waste Shipment Regulation and other Community
environmental directives.

As stated above, the United Kingdom authorities informed the Commission that the ships should be
returned to the United States provided that their state and weather conditions allow for an environmentally
safe transportation.

In relation to situations where a shipment cannot be completed as planned,
the Waste Shipment
Regulation stipulates in Article 25(1) that: ‘Where a shipment of waste to which the competent authorities
concerned have consented cannot be completed in accordance with the terms of the consignment note or
the contract referred to in Articles 3 and 6, the competent authority of dispatch shall, within 90 days after
it has been informed thereof, ensure that the notifier returns the waste to its area of jurisdiction or
elsewhere within the State of dispatch unless it is satisfied that the waste can be disposed of or recovered
in an alternative and environmentally sound manner.’

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste

within, into and out of the Community, OJ L 30, 6.2.1993.