Brussels, 16/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Commission, looking to improve the safety of passenger vessels, has opened a public consultation before revising Directive 2009/45/EC. Following the shipwreck of the cruise liner Costa Concordia at the start of the year, the Commission had made it clear that it wanted to review the rules on passenger ship safety. The issue was on the agenda of the White Paper on transport, for example, and the Commission had already begun working on the matter in 2010. The Costa Concordia accident forced the pace, however. The consultation exercise will remain open until 5 July. It is seeking in particular the views of vessel owners, shipbuilders, classification societies, seafarers, regulators at all levels and passenger representatives. The aim of the consultation is to highlight the problems already identified with regard to the directive's not being appropriate for the smallest vessels or for those constructed in a material other than steel, such as, for example, glass fibre reinforced plastic. The Commission will also hold a conference on passenger ship safety in Brussels on 24 April. (MD/transl.rt)