CELEX: 51992PC0409
Language: en
Date: 1992-10-12
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE concerning the minimum health and safety requirements for work on board fishing vessels

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
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                                                                                                              Brussels,12    October  1992
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                                                                                             Amended proposal for a
                                                                                                COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                                                                                        concerning the minimum health and
                                                                                           safety requirements for work
                                                                                             on board fishing vessels
                                                                                                   individual Directive
                                                                             ,ithin the meaning of Article 16 of Directive 89/391/EEC
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                                                                           (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                                                                                               of the EEC-Treaty)
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 ---pagebreak---                                 - Z. -
                     EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Further to the opinion delivered by the European Parliament at first
reading on 8 July 1992, the Commission is presenting an amended proposal
for a Directive in accordance with Article 149(3) of the EEC Treaty. The
text embodies four types of amendment:
    a group of amendments to the recitals, the purpose of which is to
    bring out more clearly the connections with Commission policy and a
    European Parliament resolution;
    a group of amendments on the monitoring of safety measures on board
    ship;
    a series of amendments on the training of fishermen and persons
    likely to command a vessel;
    a group of amendments laying down certain minimum requirements.
The amended Commission proposal has the same overall structure and aims
as the original proposal, but certain provisions have been extended and
made more specific.
 ---pagebreak---                                                     -h-
            ORIGINAL CONNISSION PROPOSAL                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                         (Unless otherwise indicated in this column, the
                                                         text is unchanged)
PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE CONCERNING THE
MINIMUM NEALTN AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK
ON BOARD FISHING VESSELS
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, and in particular
Article 118A thereof.
Having regard to the Commission proposal, drawn
up after consultation with the Advisory Committee
on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work,
In cooperation with the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
Whereas the Commission communication in its
programme concerning safety, hygiene and health
at w o r k " ' provides for measures to make safety
a more integral part of the design of vessels and
the definition of tasks;
Whereas the Council in its Resolution of 21
December 1987 on safety, hygiene and health at
work* 2 ' noted the Commission's intention of
submitting to it minimum requirements concerning
the organization of the safety and health of
workers at work;
                                                        Whereas occupational health and safety measures
                                                        should be introduced as part of the various
                                                        Community measures for the fisheries sector;
Whereas compliance with the minimum requirements
for ensuring a better level of safety and health
on board fishing vessels is essential to ensure
the safety and health of the workers concerned;
Whereas, because of the particularly difficult          Whereas, because of the specific and particularly
working and living conditions on board fishing          difficult working and living conditions on board
vessels, the incidence of fatal accidents among         fishing vessels, the incidence of fatal accidents
workers engaged in sea fishing is very high;            among workers engaged in sea fishing is very
                                                        high;
(1)    OJ C 28 of 3.2.1988, p. 3
(2)    OJ C 28 of 3.2.1988, p. 1
 ---pagebreak---                                                    v
                                                 -   \-
        ORIGINAL CONNISSION PROPOSAL                                  AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                      Whereas, on 15 April 1988, the European
                                                      Parliament adopted a resolution recognising the
                                                      importance of the preventive aspects of safety at
                                                      work on board fishing vessels;
                                                      Whereas, for the health and safety of the workers
                                                      concerned, prominence should be given to locating
                                                      fishing vessels in an emergency, particularly
                                                      through the use of new technologies;
Whereas this Directive is an individual Directive     Whereas this Directive is an individual Directive
within the meaning of Article 16, paragraph 1.. of    within the meaning of Article 16<1) of Council
Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989< 3>      Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the
on the introduction of measures to encourage          introduction of measures to encourage
improvements in the safety and health of workers      improvements in the safety and health of workers
at work and that therefore the provisions of the      at work (3); whereas the provisions of the latter
latter are fully applicable to work on board          are therefore fully applicable to work on board
fishing vessels, without prejudice to more            fishing vessels, without prejudice to more
stringent and/or specific provisions contained in     stringent and/or specific provisions contained in
the present Directive;                                the present Directive;
Whereas the individual Directives already adopted
in the field of safety and health at work apply,
unless otherwise specified, to sea fishing and
that therefore it may in some cases be necessary
to specify the particular characteristics of this
activity in order to ensure that the individual
Directives are correctly applied;
Whereas the Council Directive on the minimum          Whereas Council Directive 92/29/EEC on the
health and safety requirements for improved           minimum health and safety requirements for
medical treatment on board vessels (4) is             improved medical treatment on board vessels***
applicable in full to the sea fishing industry;       is applicable in full to the sea fishing
                                                      industry;
Whereas this Directive constitutes concrete
progress towards the achievement of the social
dimension of the internal market.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                      OBJECT
Article 1
1) This Directive, which is an individual
   Directive within the meaning of Article 16 of
   Directive 89/391/EEC, lays down minimum safety
   and health requirements applicable to work on
   board fishing vessels.
(3)   OJ L 183 of 29.6.1989, p. 1                     (4) OJ L 113 of 30.4.1992, p. 19
 ---pagebreak---                                                   - S-
          ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                              AMENDED PROPOSAL
 2) The provisions of Directive 89/391/EEC are
     fully applicable to the field described in
    paragraph 1 without prejudice to more
    stringent and/or specific provisions contained
     in this Directive.
                     DEFINITIONS
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive, the following
terms have the meanings hereby assigned to them:
-   fishing vessel (hereinafter called vessel):
    any vessel registered in a Member State or
    flying the flag of a Member State, used for
    catching or processing fish or other living
    resources from the sea, with a length between
    perpendiculars of 9m or over;
    fisherman: any worker within the meaning of
    Article 3 (a) of Directive 89/391/EEC carrying
    out an activity on board a fishing vessel, or
    any person who, in carrying out an activity on
    board, is subordinate to the captain of the
    vessel;
-   owner: the registered owner of a vessel,
    unless that vessel has been chartered by
    demise or is managed, either wholly or in
    part, by a natural or legal person other than
    the registered owner under the terms of a
   management agreement; in that case the owner
    shall be construed as the demise charterer or
    natural or legal person managing the vessel,
    as appropriate.
                 GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 3
The Member States shall take the measures              The Member States shall take the measures
necessary to ensure that:                              necessary to ensure that:
    owners ensure that their vessels are fit for       owners ensure that their vessels are being
    use, on the responsibility of the captain, in      used, on the responsibility of the captain,
    conditions, and in particular meteorological       in conditions, and in particular
   conditions, which do not endanger the health        meteorological conditions, which do not
   and safety of the fishermen;                        endanger the health and safety of the
                                                       fishermen;
   account is taken of any hazards faced by the
    rest of the crew when applying Article 8 (4)
   of Directive 89/391/EEC;
   any occurrences at sea which affect or could        any occurrences at sea which affect or could
   affect the health and safety of the fishermen       affect the health and safety of the fishermen
   on board ere described in a detailed report to      on board are described in a detailed report
   be forwarded to the relevant maritime               to be forwarded to the relevant maritime
   authorities and are recorded carefully and in       authorities and are recorded carefully and in
   detail in the ship's log, where the national        detail in the ship's log, or failing that, in
    regulations or legislation in force require        a document required for this purpose.
   such a log to be kept on the type of vessel in
   question.
                                                    2. The Member States shall take the measures
                                                       necessary to ensure that fishing vessels
                                                       covered by this Directive are subject to
                                                       regular controls which may be carried out,
                                                       even at sea, by authorities specifically
                                                       empowered to do so.
 ---pagebreak---                                                   - Q-
         ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                  AMENDED PROPOSAL
      VESSELS COMMISSIONED FOR THE FIRST TIME
Article 4
Vessels commissioned for the first time on or
after 1 January 1996 must comply with the minimum
health and safety requirements laid down in
Annexes I and III.
However, the minimum requirements contained in
Annex I shall apply to the vessels referred to in
the previous paragraph only if there are no
relevant Community provisions introduced pursuant
to Article 100a of the Treaty which guarantee at
least an equivalent level of protection.
               VESSELS ALREADY IN USE
Article 5
Vessels already commissioned before 1 January
1996 must comply with the minimum health and
safety requirements laid down in Annexes II and
III within three years of that date.
               ALTERATIONS TO VESSELS
Article 6
Where vessels undergo structural alterations
and/or transformations on or after 1 January
1996, such alterations and/or transformations
must comply with the relevant minimum
requirements laid down in Annexes I and III.
Article 7
For the protection of the health and safety of
workers, the Member States shall take the
measures necessary to ensure that owners:
-   ensure that the vessels and their fittings and
   equipment, particularly those referred to in
   Annexes I and II, are technically maintained,
   and that any defects found which are likely to
   affect the health and safety of the fishermen
   are rectified as quickly as possible;
-  take measures to ensure that the vessels and
   all fittings and equipment are cleaned
   regularly in order to maintain an appropriate
   standard of hygiene;
 ---pagebreak---                                                    1"
         ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
    keep on board the vessel an adequate quantity
    of suitable emergency and survival equipment
    in good working order in accordance with the
    specifications given in Annex III;
    take account, when implementing the provisions
    of Directive 89/656/EEC (5) , of the personal
    protective equipment specifications given in
    Annex IV.
              INFORMATION FOR FISHERMEN
Article 8
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 10
of Directive 89/391/EEC, the fishermen shall be
informed of all measures to be taken regarding
health and safety on board vessels.
                TRAINING OF FISHERMEN
Article 9
Without prejudice to Article 12 of Directive       Without prejudice to Article 12 of Directive
89/391/EEC, fishermen shall be given suitable      89/391/EEC, fishermen shall be given suitable
training, in particular in the form of specific    training, including in particular specific and
instructions, on health and safety on board        comprehensible instructions on health and safety
vessels.                                           on board vessels, including instructions on
                                                   accident prevention.
The training shall cover in particular the use of
emergency escape and survival equipment and, for
the fishermen concerned, the use of fishing gear
and hauling equipment and the use of various
types of signs, including hand signals.
                                                   The training shall be subject to the necessary
                                                   updating where this is required by changes in the
                                                   activities on board.
                  DETAILED TRAINING
Article 10
                                                   Without prejudice to Article 5(3) of Directive
Without prejudice to Article 5(3) of the Council   92/29/EEC, any person likely to command a vessel
Directive on the minimum health and safety         must possess adequate linguistic knowledge
requirements for improved medical treatment on     enabling them to communicate with the fishermen
board vessels, any person likely to command a      on board and shall be given detailed training on:
vessel shall be given detailed training on:
(5)    OJ L 393 of 30.12.1989, p. 18
 ---pagebreak---                                                   - £> -
         ORIGINAL CONNISSION PROPOSAL                                ANENDED PROPOSAL
    the prevention of occupational accidents on
    board;
    vessel stability and maintenance thereof when
    laden and during fishing operations;
    radio navigation and communication.                  radio navigation and communication
                                                         procedures.
     CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION OF WORKERS
Article 11
The consultation of fishermen and/or their
representatives and their participation in
discussions on the matters covered by this
Directive and its annexes shall be in accordance
with Article 11 of Directive 89/391/EEC.
             ADAPTATION OF THE ANNEXES
Article 12
Purely technical adaptations of the annexes to
take account of:
   the adoption of directives in the field of
   technical harmonization and standardization
   concerning certain aspects of the field
   covered by this Directive;
and/or:
   technical progress, changes in international
   regulations or specifications and new findings
   in the field of safety and health on board
   vessels;
shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 17 of Directive 89/391/EEC.
                  FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 13
1. The Member States shall bring into force the
   laws, regulations and administrative
   provisions necessary to comply with this
   Directive by 1 January 1995 at the latest.
   They shall forthwith inform the Commission
   thereof.
 ---pagebreak---                                                    — ."à -
          ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                AMENDED PROPOSAL
    Any such laws, regulations and administrative
    provisions adopted by the Member States shall
    contain a reference to this Directive, or
    shall be accompanied by such a reference upon
    official publication. The Member States shall
    decide on this matter.
2. The Member States shall communicate to the
    Commission the texts of the provisions of
    national law which they have already adopted
    or adopt in the field covered by this
    Directive.
3. The Member States shall report to the                  The Member States shall report to the
    Commission every five years on the practical          Commission every four years on the practical
    implementation of the provisions of this              implementation of the provisions of this
    Directive, indicating the points of view of           Directive, indicating the points of view of
    employers and workers.                                employers and workers.                     '
    The Commission shall inform the European
    Parliament, the Council, the Economic and
    Social Committee and the Advisory Committee on
    Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work.
Article 14
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at
For the Council,
The President
                       ANNEX I
MINIMUM SAFETY AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS FOR
FISHING VESSELS COMMISSIONED FOR THE FIRST TINE,
AS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 4, 6 AND 7 OF THE
DIRECTIVE
(...)                                               (...)
5. Fire detection and fire fighting
5.1    Depending on the dimensions and use of the   5.1 Depending on the dimensions and use of the
       vessel, the equipment it contains, the            vessel, the equipment it contains, the
       physical and chemical properties of the           physical and chemical properties of the
       substances, products and materials present         substances, products and materials present
       and the maximum potential number of people        and the maximum potential number of people
       present, the crew accommodation and               present, the crew accommodation and interior
       interior workplaces including the fish-           workplaces including the engine-room and,
       hold, where necessary, must be equipped           where necessary, the fish-hold, must be
       with appropriate fire-fighting equipment          equipped with appropriate fire-fighting
       and, as necesesary, with fire detectors and       equipment and, as necessary, with fire
       alarm systems.                                    detectors and alarm systems.
 ---pagebreak---                                                   _ \ o -
          ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                AMENDHO . W 3 " M
                       ANNEX II
MINIMUM SAFETY AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS FOR
FISHING VESSELS ALREADY IN USE, AS REFERRED TO IN
ARTICLES 5 AND 7 OF THE DIRECTIVE
(...)                                               (...)
3. Electrical installations
    Electrical installations must be designed and
    constructed so as not to present any danger
    and so as to provide:
    -  protection for the crew and vessel from
       electrical hazards;
    - the services necessary to maintain the
       vessel in normal operational and habitable
       conditions without having recourse to an
       emergency power supply, and
       the services essential for safety if the
       main electrical power source fails.
       An emergency source of electrical power           An emergency source of electrical power must
       must be provided outside the engine room           be provided outside or suitably separate from
       and be so arranged as to ensure its                the engine room and be so arranged as to
       functioning in the event of fire or other         ensure its functioning in the event of fire
       causes of failure of the main electricity          or other causes of failure of the main
       supply.                                            electricity supply.
       (...)                                              (...)
5. Fire detection and fire fighting
5.1    Depending on the dimensions and use of the   5.1 Depending on the dimensions and use of the
       vessel, the equipment it contains, the            vessel, the equipment it contains, the
       physical and chemical properties of the           physical and chemical properties of the
       substances, products and materials present        substances, products and materials present
       and the maximum potential number of people        and the maximum potential number of people
       present, the crew accommodation and               present, the crew accommodation and interior
       interior workplaces including the fish-           workplaces including the engine-room and,
       hold, where necessary, must be equipped           where necessary, the fish-hold, must be
       with appropriate fire-fighting equipment          equipped with appropriate fire-fighting
       and, as necesesary, with fire detectors and       equipment and, as necessary, with fire
       alarm systems.                                    detectors and alarm systems.
                      ANNEX III
MINIMUM SAFETY AND HEALTH REQUIRENEMTS CONCERNING
THE EMERGENCY ESCAPE AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT
REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 4, 5, 6 AND 7
(...)                                               (...)
2. Every vessel must carry sufficient life rafts         Every vessel must carry sufficient life rafts
    or lifeboats to accommodate everyone on board,       or lifeboats to accommodate everyone on
    and they must be located in places from which        board, and they must be located in places
    they can be launched safely simply by                 from which they can be launched safely and
    dropping, without any vertical or horizontal         quickly, without any vertical or horizontal
    obstacles between them and the water; it must        obstacles between them and the water; it must
    also be possible to board them easily, quickly       also be possible to board them easily,
    and safely.                                          quickly and safely.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(92) 409 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                     05 04 03
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-92-426-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-47726-1
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