2006/137/EC Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 amending Directive 2006/87/EC laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels
Date: 2006-12-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: Community certification, inland waters, inland waterway fleet, inland waterway shipping, maritime safety, technical standard

30.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 389/261

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 18 December 2006

amending Directive 2006/87/EC laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels

(2006/137/EC)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO-
PEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular Article 71(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee,

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Directive 2006/87/EC (2) establishes harmonised condi-
tions for issuing technical certificates for inland waterway
vessels throughout
the Community's inland waterway
network.

The technical requirements set out in the Annexes to
Directive 2006/87/EC for the most part incorporate the
provisions laid down in the Regulation on Inspection of
Shipping on the Rhine, in the version approved in 2004
by the member states of the Central Commission for
Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR). The conditions and
technical requirements for issuing inland navigation certi-
ficates under Article 22 of the Revised Convention for
Rhine Navigation are updated regularly and are recog-
nised as reflecting current technological developments.

In order
to prevent distortions of competition and
varying levels of safety, it is desirable, specifically in the
interests of promoting harmonisation at European level,
to adopt equivalent technical requirements for the whole
of the Community's inland waterway network and, subse-
quently, to update them at regular intervals in order to
maintain that equivalence.

Directive 2006/87/EC authorises
the Commission to
adapt those technical requirements in the light of tech-
nical progress and of developments arising from the
work of other international organisations,
in particular
that of the CCNR.

Those amendments need to be made rapidly in order to
ensure that the technical requirements necessary for the
issuing of the Community inland navigation certificate
give a level of safety equivalent to that required for the
issuing of the certificate referred to in Article 22 of the
Revised Convention for Rhine Navigation.

(1) Opinion of the European Parliament of 30 November 2006 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 18 December
2006.

(2) See page 1 of this Official Journal

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The measures necessary for the implementation of Direc-
tive 2006/87/EC should be adopted in accordance with
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down the procedures for the exercise of implementing
powers conferred on the Commission5 (3).

In particular the Commission should be empowered to
establish the conditions under which the technical
requirements and administrative procedures set out in the
Annexes to Directive 2006/87/EC may be amended.
Since those measures are of general scope and are
designed to amend non-essential elements of Directive
2006/87/EC, they should be adopted in accordance with
the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in
Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

On grounds of efficiency, the normal time-limits for the
regulatory procedure with scrutiny should be curtailed
for
such measures amending the
Annexes to Directive 2006/87/EC.

the adoption of

On grounds of urgency,
is necessary to apply the
it
urgency procedure provided for in Article 5a(6) of Deci-
sion 1999/468/EC for the adoption of any amendment
of the Annexes to Directive 2006/87/EC to take account
of
related developments
arising from the work of other international organisa-
tions, in particular the CCNR, as well as for the adoption
of temporary requirements.

technical developments or

(10) Directive 2006/87/ECshould therefore be

amended

accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Directive 2006/87/EC is hereby amended as follows:

1) The following paragraphs shall be added to Article 19:

‘3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a
(1) to (4) and (5)(b), and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8
thereof.

The time limits provided for in Article 5a(3)(c), (4)(b) and (4)
(e) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at twenty-one days,
fifteen days and one month respectively.

(3) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision

2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).

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Official Journal of the European Union

30.12.2006

4. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a
(1), (2), (4) and (6), and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8
thereof.’

2) Article 20 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 20

Adaptation of the Annexes and recommendations on provi-
sional certificates

that of

1.
Any amendments which are necessary to adapt the
Annexes to this Directive to technical progress or to develop-
ments in this area arising from the work of other interna-
tional organisations,
the Central
in particular
Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR), to ensure
that the two certificates referred to in Article 3(1)(a) are
issued on the basis of technical requirements which guar-
antee an equivalent level of safety, or to take account of the
cases referred to in Article 5, shall be adopted in accordance
with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in
the
Article 19(3). On imperative grounds of urgency,
Commission may follow the urgency procedure referred to
in Article 19(4).

Those amendments shall be made rapidly in order to ensure
that the technical requirements for the issuing of the Com-
munity inland navigation certificate recognised for naviga-
tion on the Rhine give a level of safety equivalent to that
required for the issuing of
the certificate referred to in
Article 22 of the Revised Convention for Rhine Navigation.

2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the Commission shall
adopt the approvals referred to in Article 5(2) in accordance
with the procedure referred to in Article 19(2).

3.
The Commission shall decide on recommendations
from the Committee on the issue of provisional Community
inland navigation certificates in accordance with Article 2.19
of Annex II.’

3) Annex II shall be amended as follows:

1) Article 1.06 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.06

Temporary requirements

Temporary requirements designed to amend non-essential
elements of this Directive, by supplementing it, may be
adopted,
in accordance with the regulatory procedure
with scrutiny referred to in Article 19(4) of this Directive,
where it is found urgently necessary, for the purposes of
inland waterway
adaptation to technical progress of
transport, to allow derogations from the provisions of
this Directive or to allow tests. The requirements shall be
published and shall be valid for a maximum of three
years. They shall enter into force at the same time and
the same conditions in all
shall be annulled under
Member States.’

2) Article 10.03a(5) shall be replaced by the following:

‘5.
Systems spraying smaller quantities of water shall
have a type-approval pursuant to IMO Resolution A 800
(19) or another recognised standard. Such recognitions,
when designed to amend non-essential elements of this
Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regula-
tory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 19(3)
of this Directive. Type-approval shall be carried out by an
approved classification society or an accredited testing
institution. The accredited testing institution shall comply
with the European standard for general requirements for
the competence of
testing and calibrating laboratories
(EN ISO/IEC 17025: 2000).’

3) Article 10.03b(1) shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.

Extinguishing agents

For protecting engine rooms, boiler rooms and pump
rooms, the following extinguishing agents may be used in
permanently installed fire-fighting systems:

(a) CO2 (carbon dioxide);

(b) HFC 227 ea (heptafluoropropane);

(c) IG-541 (52 % nitrogen, 40 % argon, 8 % carbon

dioxide).

Permission to use other extinguishing agents, when such
permission is designed to amend non-essential elements
of this Directive, shall be given in accordance with the
regulatory procedure with scrutiny
referred to in
Article 19(3) of this Directive.’

Article 2

1. Member States which have inland waterways as referred to
in Article 1(1) of Directive 2006/87/EC shall bring into force
the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to
comply with this Directive with effect from 30 December 2008.
They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a
reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such
reference on the occasion of
their official publication. The
methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the
Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in
the field covered by this Directive. The Commission shall inform
the other Member States thereof.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication
in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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This Directive is addressed to the Member States which have inland waterways as referred to in Article 1(1)
of Directive 2006/87/EC.

Article 4

Done at Brussels, 18 December 2006

For the European Parliament

The President

J. BORRELL FONTELLES

For the Council

The President

J.-E. ENESTAM