Commission Opinion pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council Common Position regarding the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2008-11-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: information system, maritime safety, maritime transport, pollution from ships, transport accident, transport of dangerous goods

EN 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 26.11.2008 
COM(2008) 829 final 

2005/0239 (COD) 

COMMISSION OPINION 

pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council Common Position regarding the 
proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and 
information system 

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the 
EC Treaty 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
 
2005/0239 (COD) 

COMMISSION OPINION 

pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council Common Position regarding the 
proposal for a 

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and 
information system 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Article  251(2),  third  subparagraph,  point  (c)  of  the  EC  Treaty  requires  the  Commission  to 
give an opinion on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament at second reading. 
The Commission sets out its opinion below on the amendments proposed by Parliament. 

2. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and to 
the Council 

Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee 

Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading 

Date of adoption of the common position (by unanimity) 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, second reading  

9.1.2006

13.9.2006

15.6.2006

25.4.2007

6.6.2008

24.9.2008

3. 

PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  purpose  of  the  proposal,  which  forms  part  of  the  Third  Maritime  Safety  Package,  is  to 
supplement, strengthen and clarify Directive 2002/59/EC as regards the following aspects:  

–  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 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
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  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. 

4. 

THE COMMISSION'S OPINION ON THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S AMENDMENTS 

4.1. 

Amendments accepted by the Commission 

4.1.1.  Amendments accepted in full 

The amendments accepted in full by the Commission are as follows: 

–  the  amendments  which  improve  the  Commission  proposal  on  the  question  of  places  of 
refuge, as regards the plans for accommodating vessels in places of refuge (amendments 8, 
41 and 42) and insurance (amendment 52); 

–  amendments relating to the establishment of the LRIT European Data Centre for the long-
distance  tracking  of  vessels  (amendment  13),  the  SafeSeaNet  maritime  data  exchange 
network  (amendments  11  and  55),  fair  treatment  of  seafarers  (amendments  6  and  24), 
navigation in ice conditions (amendment 37), and requirements concerning the shipment of 
dangerous goods (amendment 34); 

–  amendments  relating  to  comitology,  correlation  tables  and  the  entry  into  force  of  the 

Directive (amendments 16, 57 and 59); 

–  amendments  17,  19,  20,  22,  23,  25,  27,  44,  45,  46,  48,  49,  50  and  51  incorporating 
elements  of  the  proposal  for  a  directive  on  civil  liability  and  insurance  for  shipowners, 
another part of the Third Package which on the date of the second reading by the European 
Parliament had not yet been approved by the Council. The Commission notes that political 
agreement for that proposal was given by the Council of 9 October 2008. 

4.1.2.  Amendments partially accepted 

The amendments partially accepted by the Commission are as follows: 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
–  Amendments 10 and 53 on the compensation for economic losses suffered by ports which 
accommodate  vessels  in  distress.  The  Commission  fully  supports  one  of  the  objectives, 
which  is  to  stress  how  important  it  is  that  the  Member  States  ratify  and/or  implement 
international conventions on compensation for pollution damage. However, the obligation 
on Member States to reimburse all the costs and compensate for the damage resulting from 
a decision to accommodate a vessel is excessive and poses legal and practical problems. In 
the view of the Commission, it is desirable that Member States have a legal framework in 
place that allows for compensation for such damage whenever necessary. 

–  Amendment  38  is  intended  to  oblige  the  Member  States  to  comply  with  the  IMO 
guidelines on  fair  treatment of seafarers.  In the view of the Commission,  Member States 
should take the guidelines into consideration, but it would be difficult to envisage making 
them  compulsory  in  Community  law,  given  that  they  relate  essentially  to  questions  of 
judicial  and  criminal  procedure,  and  are  not  directly  connected  to  the  objectives  of  the 
Directive.  

–  The Commission has no objections to the objectives of amendment 15 on the scope of the 
comitology procedure. However, the amendment in question is largely redundant given the 
content of Articles 27 and 28 of Directive 2002/59/EC and should therefore be considered 
in the context of those articles.  

4.1.3.  Amendments accepted in principle and/or subject to rewording 

–  Amendment 2 on incorporating AIS systems for short-distance monitoring of vessels into 

VMS systems used for fisheries control. 

–  Amendments 5, 7, 9, 26, 39 and 43 concerning in particular the decision-making process 

for the accommodation of vessels in places of refuge and 'place of refuge' plans. 

–  Amendments 12, 28 and 30 on the establishment of the LRIT European Data Centre for the 
long-distance tracking of vessels flying the flag of an EU Member State and operating off 
the EU coast. 

–  Amendments 1, 3, 14, 35 and 56 on the confidentiality of information obtained under the 
Directive, whether relating to information sent by vessels using AIS or LRIT systems, or 
information  circulated  among  Member  States  using  the  SafeSeaNet  maritime  data 
exchange network. 

–  Amendment 54 enabling development of the constituent parts of the SafeSeaNet maritime 

data exchange network within the content of Annex III to the Directive.  

–  Amendment 18 on the use of information obtained under the Directive for the purposes of 

maritime safety. 

–  Amendment  4  strengthening  checks  on  compliance  with  building  and  maintenance 

requirements for navigation in ice filled waters. 

–  Amendment 21, intended to oblige vessels to inform the coastal authorities of the quantity 

of bunker fuel, irrespective of the volume on board. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
–  Amendments  31,  32  and  33  strengthening  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  relating  to  the 
information to be provided by the shipper when dangerous or polluting goods are offered 
for carriage. 

–  Amendment 29, intended to alleviate the burden on scheduled services using Community 

ports to provide notifications of entry into port.  

4.2. 

Amendments not accepted by the Commission 

No amendments were rejected. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Under  Article  250(2)  of  the  EC  Treaty,  the  Commission  is  amending  its  proposal  in 
accordance with the above. 

EN 

5 

   EN