Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position adopted by the Council with a view to the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system
Date: 2008-06-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: information system, maritime safety, maritime transport, pollution from ships, transport accident, transport of dangerous goods

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 11.6.2008 
COM(2008) 310 final 

2005/0239 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position adopted by the Council with a view to the adoption of a Directive of 
the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2002/59/EC 
establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system 

(presented by the Commission) 

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2005/0239 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position adopted by the Council with a view to the adoption of a Directive of 
the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2002/59/EC 
establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date when the proposal was sent to the European Parliament and 
the Council: 
[document COM(2005)589 final – 2005/0239 COD)] 

Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions: 

Date  of  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee: 

9.1.2006 

15.6.2006 

13.9.2006 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading: 

25.4.2007 

Date of adoption of the common position: 

6.6.2008 

2. 

PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The  proposal  for  a  Directive  amending  Directive  2002/59/EC  establishing  a  Community 
vessel  traffic  monitoring  and  information  system  is  one  of  a  series  of  measures  aimed  at 
strengthening and supplementing the existing legislation on maritime safety. 

The  proposal 
is  designed 
Directive 2002/59/EC on the following points: 

supplement, 

to 

strengthen  and  clarify 

the  existing 

•  Clarification  and  strengthening  of  the  provisions  in  the  present  Directive  on  the 
accommodation  of  vessels  in  distress  in  places  of  refuge.  The  objective  is  to 
establish  the  principle  of  accommodating  vessels  in  distress  in  places  of  refuge, 
except  where  an  assessment  of  the  situation  leads  to  a  different  conclusion.  The 
aim is also to ensure that the independent authorities responsible for designating 
the most appropriate places of refuge are clearly identified and have the necessary 
information to take a rapid decision, including precise information on the coastal 
areas available for use as places of refuge.  

•  A requirement to install equipment (AIS – Automatic Identification Systems) for 
the  automatic  identification  of  fishing  vessels  with  a  length  of  more  than 

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15 metres. This equipment will improve the identification and location of fishing 
vessels, in particular by merchant vessels, thus reducing the risk of accidents. 

•  Widespread use of the SafeSeaNet telematic data exchange network. This system, 
developed  by  the  Commission  and  operated  by  the  European  Maritime  Safety 
Agency, will enable maritime authorities  to  precisely monitor the movements of 
vessels and their cargo. 

•  A  requirement  for  shippers  to  provide  masters  with  detailed  information  on  the 
cargo,  in  particular  to  improve  dealing  with  pollution  as  a  result  of  a  greater 
knowledge of the physical and chemical characteristics of the products involved. 

•  Provisions  enabling  coastal  states  to  take  appropriate  measures  to  reduce  the 
potential danger to shipping from ice formation in certain northern sea areas of the 
European  Union.  This  issue  is  particularly  important  given  the  increased  risk 
resulting from the greater volumes of oil transported in the Baltic. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION 

The  Council  departs  significantly  from  one  substantial  point  in  the  Commission’s  proposal, 
i.e. the question of places of refuge, which the Commission cannot accept. This is because the 
Council has considerably reduced the scope of the Commission’s proposal by deleting, firstly, 
the principle that vessels in distress must be accommodated in places of refuge, subject to the 
results of an assessment of the situation, and secondly the requirement for the Member States 
to set up an independent authority to assess the situation and take a decision.  

However, the Commission takes  the  view  that such independence is  essential to  ensure that 
the most appropriate decision is taken in good time, free from local political pressure, to make 
vessels  in  major  difficulties  safe  or  contain  pollution  where  it  cannot  be  avoided  and  thus 
reduce its impact, also on neighbouring countries. 

The Commission therefore takes note of the Council’s common position adopted unanimously 
but stresses its differing view on the key issue of places of refuge. 

On the other hand the Commission notes that the Council backs other aspects of its proposal, 
in particular by accepting that fishing vessels with a length of more than 15 metres should be 
equipped with automatic identification systems – AIS – to reduce the risk of collisions, and by 
recognising  the  need  to  ensure  that  SafeSeaNet,  i.e.  the  Community  data  exchange  network 
for vessels and their movements and cargo, operates continuously, i.e. 24 hours a day, seven 
days a week. 

4. 

DETAILED COMMISSION COMMENTS 

4.1. 

Amendments accepted by the Commission and incorporated in full or in part in 
the common position 

Amendments  17,  20  and  22  provide  useful  clarifications  of  the  Commission’s  proposal,  in 
particular  as  regards  the  definition  of  the  LRIT  system  and  the  addition  of  the  international 
reference text (amendment 17). 

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4.2. 

Amendments accepted by the Commission but not incorporated in the common 
position 

In the Commission’s view amendments 1, 4, 12, 16, 18, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 36, 42, 43 and 48 
provide useful clarifications of and/or additions to its proposal.  

Amendments 5, 31 and 33 relating to the setting up of competent authorities which have the 
required expertise and are independent in that they have the power to take decisions on their 
own  initiative  on  the  accommodation  of  vessels  in  distress  in  places  of  refuge  are  fully 
supported by the Commission. 

The same applies to amendments 8, 34, 39 and 40 relating to the principle of accommodation 
in places of refuge. 

The Commission also supports amendments 13, 14 and 24 on establishing an LRIT European 
data centre. 

4.3. 

Amendments rejected by the Commission and not incorporated in the common 
position 

Amendments 2, 45 and 46, the effect of which is to delay the installation of the AIS on board 
fishing  vessels,  are  incompatible  with  the  overall  objective  of  the  Commission’s  proposal, 
since the AIS is an important measure in helping to save lives. 

Amendment 3 on the creation of a budget line outside the Financial Instrument for Fisheries 
Guidance  for  equipping  the  existing  fleet  with  AIS  is  not  supported  by  the  Commission.  It 
points  out  that  the  instrument  applicable  at  Community  level  to  financial  support  for  the 
installation of safety equipment such as AIS is the European Fisheries Fund. 

Amendment  6  on  vessels  in  need  of  assistance  is  outside  the  scope  of  the  Directive,  since 
routine intervention in the case of vessels in need of assistance must remain at Member-State 
level  under  the  principle  of  subsidiarity.  The  Commission’s  proposal  relates  to  places  of 
refuge for vessels in distress. 

Amendment 11 providing for a ban on the entry into the Member States’ territorial waters of 
vessels not having a financial guarantee conflicts with international law and therefore cannot 
be accepted by the Commission. 

Amendments 21, 50, 51, 52, 53 and 54 relating to the installation of AIS equipment only on 
fishing vessels of more than 24 m (as against 15 m in the Commission’s proposal) reduce the 
scope  of  the  Commission’s  proposal  and  are  therefore  unacceptable.  This  is  because  the 
smallest vessels (less than 24 m) are also the most vulnerable to the risk of collision. 

5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  Commission  takes  note  of  the  Council’s  common  position,  which  was  unanimously 
adopted, but points out its differing view on the key issue of places of refuge (the principle of 
accommodating vessels in distress in places of refuge and the requirement for Member States 
to set up an independent authority). 

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