Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International Maritime Organization during the 109th session of the Maritime Safety Committee on the adoption of amendments to the International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code)
Date: 2024-10-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: International Maritime Organisation, gas, marine fuel, maritime safety, safety standard, technical standard, vessel

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.10.2024  COM(2024) 453 final 2024/0250 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International Maritime Organization during the 109th session of the Maritime Safety Committee on the adoption of amendments to the International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code)  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This proposal concerns a decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf 
at the 109th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee 
(MSC 109), scheduled to take place from 2 to 6 December 2024.  

During the MSC 109, it is envisaged to adopt amendments to the International Code of Safety 
for Ships Using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code). 

2. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

The Convention on the International Maritime Organization  

The Convention on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) establishes the IMO. The 
IMO’s purpose is to provide a forum for co-operation in the field of regulation and practices 
relating to technical matters of all kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade. It 
furthermore  aims  to  encourage  the  general  adoption  of  the  highest  practicable  standards  in 
matters  concerning  maritime  safety,  efficiency  of  navigation  and  prevention  and  control  of 
marine  pollution  from  ships,  promoting  a  level  playing  field.  It  also  to  deal  with  related 
administrative and legal matters. 

The Convention entered into force on 17 March 1958. 

All Member States are parties to the Convention. The Union is not a party to the Convention. 

All  Member  States  are  parties  to  the  International  Convention  for  the  Safety  of  Life  at  Sea 
('SOLAS'),  1974,  which  entered  into  force  on  25  May  1980.  The  Union  is  not  a  party  to 
SOLAS.    The  International  Code  of  Safety  for  Ships  using  Gases  or  other  Low-flashpoint 
Fuels (‘IGF Code’) is mandatory under SOLAS. 

2.2. 

The International Maritime Organization  

The  International  Maritime  Organization  (IMO)  is  the  United  Nations’  specialised  agency 
with  responsibility  for  the  safety  and  security  of  shipping  and  the  prevention  of  marine 
pollution  by  ships.  It  is  the  global  standard-setting  authority  for  the  safety,  security,  and 
environmental  performance  of  international  shipping.  Its  main  role  is  to  create  a  regulatory 
framework  for  the  shipping  industry  that  is  fair  and  effective,  universally  adopted  and 
universally implemented.  

Membership in the IMO is open only to States and all EU Member States are IMO members. 
Since regional economic integration organizations cannot be members to IMO, the EU is not a 
member  to  this  organization.  However,  following  the  signature  of  the  Arrangement  for  Co-
operation  and  Collaboration  concluded  between 
Inter-Governmental  Maritime 
Consultative  Organisation  (IMCO)  and  the  Commission  of  the  European  Communities  in 
1974, the Commission participates as an observer in the work of the IMO and can therefore 
transmit submissions to that organisation in its own name. 

the 

IMO’s  Maritime  Safety  Committee  (MSC)  consists  of  all  the  IMO  Members  and  meets  at 
least once a year. It considers any matter within the scope of the Organization concerned with 
aids to navigation, construction, and equipment of vessels, manning from a safety standpoint, 
rules  for  the  prevention  of  collisions,  handling  of  dangerous  cargoes,  maritime  safety 
procedures and requirements, hydrographic information, log-books and navigational records, 
marine  casualty  investigation,  salvage  and  rescue,  and  any  other  matters  directly  affecting 
maritime safety.  

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IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee provides machinery for performing any duties assigned to 
them by the IMO Convention, the IMO Assembly or the IMO Council, or any duty within the 
above scope which may  be assigned to  them by or under any other international  instrument 
and  accepted  by  the  IMO.  Decisions  of  the  Maritime  Safety  Committee,  and  of  their 
subsidiary bodies, are adopted by a majority of their Members.  

The envisaged act of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee 

2.3. 
On 2 to 6 December 2024, during its 109th session, the Maritime Safety Committee is to adopt 
amendments to the IGF Code. 

The purpose of the envisaged amendments to the IGF Code is to enhance the safety of ships, 
including passenger ships, using natural gas and other low flash point fuels (as marine fuels). 
The adoption of these amendments will promote  the use of renewable and low carbon fuels 
and in particular Gases and other low flash point fuels such as low and zero-carbon Methanol, 
Hydrogen and Ammonia. This is in line with the decarbonisation and depollution objectives 
of the EU Fit for 55 legislative package. 

3. 

3.1. 

POSITION  TO  BE  TAKEN  ON  THE  UNION'S  BEHALF  IN  THE  109TH  SESSION  OF  THE 
MARITIME SAFETY COMMITTEE  

Amendments to the International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or other 
Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code) 

The Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC) at its 9th session agreed to 
establish  a  Working  Group  on  Amendments  to  the  IGF  Code  and  instructed  it,  taking  into 
account  the  comments  made  and  decisions  taken  in  plenary,  to  prepare  a  draft  set  of 
amendments to the IGF Code based on the documents submitted to that session.  

Having  considered  the  report  of  the  above-mentioned  Working  Group,  CCC  9  noted  the 
Group's discussion on the draft amendments to the IGF Code and that the Group had finalized 
them. The amendments include a variety of issues, including pump suction wells, safety relief 
valve discharge, fuel preparation rooms, structural fire protection and hazardous zones. 

CCC 9 agreed to the draft amendments to the IGF Code as set out in annex 3 of CCC 9/14, for 
submission to MSC 108 for approval and subsequent adoption. 

The  Union’s  position  in  CCC  9  was  to  support  the  draft  amendments  to  the  IGF  Code  as 
proposed in CCC 9/3/3 (Liberia et al.) and to support the establishment of a working group to 
finalise the amendments to the IGF Code and to consider documents CCC 9/3/5 (Republic of 
Korea, Liberia and INTERTANKO) and CCC 9/3/8 (CESA). 

MSC 108 approved draft amendments to the IGF Code, with a view to adoption at MSC 109. 
These amendments  are circulated through  IMO  Circular Letter No.4879  of 29 May 2024  in 
Annex 2. 

The Union should support these amendments  because they  will enhance the safety  of ships, 
including passenger ships, using natural gas as fuel. These amendments provide an equivalent 
level  of  protection  of  the  piping  system  and  tank  inlet  from  the  relief  valve  discharge  lines 
during normal operation and emergency. In addition, the existence of small wells of LNG fuel 
tanks should be acknowledged within the IGF Code.  

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4. 

RELEVANT EU LEGISLATION AND EU COMPETENCE 

4.1.1.  Amendments to the International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or other Low-

flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code)  

Article 6(2)(a)(i) of Directive 2009/45/EC  on safety  rules and standards for passenger ships 
engaged on domestic voyages applies SOLAS, as amended, to Class A passenger ships. Since 
the IGF Code is a mandatory Code under SOLAS then it is also applicable for passenger ships 
under this Directive.  

In addition, Annex I of Directive 2009/45/EC in its section 1 and 2 contains regulations that 
require to comply with the requirements of the IGF Code: 

• 

• 

Regulation II-1/G/1: applicable to New Class B, C and D [and existing Class B 
ships] - “Ships, irrespective of the date of construction, converted to using or 
which  undertake  to  use  gaseous  or  liquid  fuel  having  a  flashpoint  lower  than 
otherwise  permitted  under  Regulation  II-2/A/10,  subparagraph.1.1,  shall 
comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  IGF  Code,  as  defined  in  SOLAS  II-
1/2.28.”; and  

Regulation  II-1/G/57:  Requirements  for  ships  using  low-flashpoint  fuels  - 
“Ships  using  gaseous  or  liquid  fuel  having  a  flashpoint  lower  than  otherwise 
permitted under Regulation II- 2/4.2.1.1 shall comply with the requirements of 
the IGF Code, as defined in SOLAS II-1/2.28. 

Therefore, the amendments to the International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or other 
Low-flashpoint  Fuels  (IGF  Code)  are  capable  of  decisively  influencing  the  application  of 
Directive 2009/45/EC.    

4.1.2.  EU competence 

The subject matter of the envisaged acts concerns an area for which the Union has exclusive 
external competence by virtue of the last limb of Article 3(2) TFEU, as the envisaged acts are 
liable to ‘affect common rules or alter their scope’. 

5. 

LEGAL BASIS 

5.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

5.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

Article 218(9) TFEU applies regardless of whether the Union is a member of the body or a 
party to the agreement.1 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 
not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’.2 

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Case C-399/12 Germany v Council (OIV), ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraph 64.  
Case C-399/12 Germany v Council (OIV), ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61-64.  

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5.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee is a body set up by an agreement in accordance with 
the Convention on the International Maritime Organization.  

The  acts  which  this  IMO  committee  is  called  upon  to  adopt  constitute  acts  having  legal 
effects. The envisaged acts are capable of decisively influencing the content of EU legislation 
and notably: 

– 

Directive  2009/45/EC  on  safety  rules  and  standards  for  passenger  ships.  This  is 
because Article 6 of that Directive provides that the provisions of Chapters IV, V and 
VI  of  the  1974  SOLAS  Convention,  as  amended,  must  apply  to  new  and  existing 
passenger  ships  of  Classes  A,  B,  C  and  D  [Article  6(1)(b)]  and  that    new  Class  A 
passenger  ships  must  comply  entirely  with  the  requirements  of  the  1974  SOLAS 
Convention as amended [Article 6(2)(a)(i)]. Since the IGF Code is a mandatory Code 
under  SOLAS,  then  it  is  also  applicable  to  passenger  ships  under  Directive 
2009/45/EC  by  virtue  of  the  dynamic  references  to  SOLAS  thereunder.  Further, 
Annex I to Directive 2009/45/EC contains regulations that require to comply directly 
with the requirements of the IGF Code.    

The  envisaged  acts  do  not  supplement  or  amend  the  institutional  framework  of  the 
Agreement. 

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 

5.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

5.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 
incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

5.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The main objective and content of the envisaged acts relate to maritime transport. Therefore, 
the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is Article 100(2) TFEU. 

5.3. 

Conclusion 

The legal basis of the proposed decision should be Article 100(2) TFEU, in conjunction with 
Article 218(9) TFEU. 

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2024/0250 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International 
Maritime Organization during the 109th session of the Maritime Safety Committee on 
the adoption of amendments to the International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases 
or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 100(2), in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

The Convention on the International Maritime Organization (‘IMO’) entered into force 
on 17 March 1958.  

The  IMO  is  a  specialised  agency  of  the  United  Nations  with  responsibility  for  the 
safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution 
by  ships.  All  Union  Member  States  are  members  of  the  IMO.  The  Union  is  not  a 
member of the IMO. 

Pursuant  to  Article  28(b)  of  the  Convention  on  the  IMO,  the  Maritime  Safety 
Committee  provides  machinery  for  the  performance  of  any  duties  assigned  to  it  in 
accordance  with  that  Convention,  by  the  IMO  Assembly  or  by  the  IMO  Council,  or 
any  duty  within  the  scope  of  that  Article  which  may  be  assigned  to  the  Maritime 
Safety Committee under any other international instrument and accepted by the IMO. 
The  IMO’s  Maritime  Safety  Committee,  in  its  109th  session  from  2  to  6  December 
2024,  is  to  adopt  amendments  to  the  International  Code  of  Safety  for  Ships  Using 
Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels  (IGF Code). The amendments  include a variety 
of issues, including pump suction wells, safety relief valve discharge, fuel preparation 
rooms, structural fire protection and hazardous zones. 

 It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf during the 
109th  session  of  the  IMO’s  Maritime  Safety  Committee,  as  the  envisioned  acts  are 
capable  of  decisively  influencing  the  contents  of  Union  law,  namely  Directive 
2009/45/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger ships1. 

The  Union  should  support  the  amendments  to  the  International  Code  of  Safety  for 
Ships  Using  Gases  or  other  Low-flashpoint  Fuels  (IGF  Code)  because  they  will 
enhance the safety of ships, including passenger ships, using natural gas as fuel. These 
amendments  provide an  equivalent  level  of protection of the piping system  and tank 
inlet from the relief valve discharge lines during normal operation and emergency. In 
addition,  the  existence  of  small  wells  of  LNG  fuel  tanks  should  be  acknowledged 

1 

OJ L 163, 25.6.2009, p. 1 

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within  the  IGF  Code.  The  adoption  of  these  amendments  will  promote  the  use  of 
renewable and low carbon fuels and in particular Gases and other low flash point fuels 
such as low and zero-carbon Methanol, Hydrogen and Ammonia. This is in line with 
the  decarbonisation  and  depollution  objectives  of  the  EU  Fit  for  55  legislative 
package. 

(7) 

The  Union's  position  is  to  be  expressed  by  the  Member  States  of  the  Union  that  are 
members of the IMO, and by the Commission, acting jointly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union’s  behalf  in  the  109th  session  of  the  IMO’s  Maritime 
Safety Committee shall be to agree to the adoption of amendments to the International Code 
of  Safety  for  Ships  Using  Gases  or  other  Low-flashpoint  Fuels  (IGF  Code),  as  set  out  in 
Annex 2 of IMO Circular Letter No.4879 of 29 May 2024.  

The  position  referred  to  in  Article  1  shall  be  expressed  by  the  Commission  and  by  the 
Member  States  of  the  Union  that  are  members  of  the  IMO’s  Maritime  Safety  Committee, 
acting jointly in the interest of the Union. 

Article 2 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission and the Member States.   

Article 3 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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