On Monday 9 October, Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) announced their intention to shorten the interval between maritime accidents and the resulting investigation, when they examined the draft report by Caroline Nagtegaal (Renew Europe, Dutch). They also discussed clear requirements for flag State inspections and the extension of port State control.
These texts are part of the European Commission’s package to modernise maritime safety rules (see EUROPE 13192/18 - and see other news).
Maritime safety survey
Ms Nagtegaal tabled amendments aimed at “bringing the directive fully into line with international maritime law”, with what she described as a “more flexible and realistic” approach.
In particular, she considered that the maximum period of 2 months after an accident to start safety investigations was too long. “My suggestion would be to shorten up this period, in order to increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of the whole investigation process”, she said.
A view shared by her colleagues: “Evidence gathered quickly and accurately is richer and can better contribute to the search for the root causes of the incident”, added Ljudmila Novak (EPP, Slovenian) for Magdalena Adamowicz (EPP, Polish).
Ms Nagtegaal raised a number of doubts about extending the scope of application to fishing vessels of less than 15 metres, particularly with regard to the practicality and feasibility of this measure for national authorities.
But her colleagues and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) sided with the European Commission. “This profession has the highest rate of fatal accidents in Europe; we have an ageing and dangerous fleet; we need to improve our knowledge of fishing accidents”, said Pierre Karleskind (Renew Europe, French), Chairman of the Committee on Fisheries.
The EESC spoke out in favour of “fair treatment for seafarers, who have been criminalised when they are, in fact, victims”. “Fishermen often work in precarious conditions, there is a lack of data on the subject and a lack of coherent approaches”, stressed the representative.
Flag states and port states
With regard to the flag state, the rapporteur, Vera Tax (S&D, Dutch), proposed amendments to make the electronic certificate compulsory 3 years after its entry into force. In her view, this would increase efficiency and enable inspections to be better targeted.
Digitalisation and automation could also make a significant contribution to decarbonising and reducing emissions in this sector, while promoting cooperation between stakeholders.
Lastly, Ms Tax felt it was important to introduce systematic verification of seafarers’ records of hours worked and hours of rest.
See the draft reports:
- on safety investigations: https://aeur.eu/f/8ze
- on flag states: https://aeur.eu/f/8zi
- on port states: https://aeur.eu/f/8zg (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)