Brussels, 28/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted a communication on improving the safety of passenger ships in the Community, together with proposals for two directives. It also announces that it will be presenting proposals on passenger compensation in the event of accidents at sea and on insurance coverage for passenger ships, if the results of the negotiations on this subject at the International Maritime Organisation, which should end in autumn 2002, do not meet with EU satisfaction. European Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio had announced these measures after the sinking of the Express Samina in Greek waters, in September 2001, as well as in the White Paper on transport policy in the run up to 2010. The proposals will modernise and complete the current rules on passenger vessel safety standards, the inspection of ships, and passenger registration.
A directive would strengthen the stability requirements for RO-RO passenger ferries in order to prevent boats from turning over when too much water rushes in. In practice, the Commission recommends that, by 1 October 2010, the "Stockholm Agreement" should be made compulsory for all international passenger transport through the European Union. Concluded by eight European North and Baltic Sea States after the Estonia ferry accident in February 1996, the agreement goes beyond the international Solas 90 norms applied to EU interior transport in the context of the 98/18 directive. The Commission notes in its communication that the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement has not posed major problems to companies or to governments that are signatory to the agreement. It says that, out of 140 vessels covered by the agreement, 69% have been adapted for less than one million euros. It considers that the cost of bringing the fleet of southern Europe into conformity with the provisions of the Stockholm Agreement should be approximately equal to that entailed by adapting to the Sola 90 norms. These international standards must in any case be revised, so the sector should already have foreseen the necessary investment for adapting the boats concerned, it assures.
The 98/18 directive on the safety regulations for passenger ships will be amended. In a concern for consistency, the new text provides for stability requirements similar to those defined for international traffic to be applied to ships on domestic trips. It proposes the following timetable: 1) new RO-RO ferries of the A, B and C categories built after 30 September 2004 should apply the rules defined by the Stockholm Agreement on 1 October 2010; 2) A and B ferries built before 1 October 2004 should apply the norms of the Stockholm agreement by 1 January 2015 at the latest; 3) the new RO-RO ferries of the D category should apply the Solas 90 stability requirements by 1 October 2010, from which they are currently exempted; and 4) the D category ferries should conform to the Solas 90 norms before 1 October 2004 and at any rate by 1 January 2015 at the latest.
The Commission, moreover, proposes to introduce into the directive a new article concerning the security requirements for persons with reduced mobility, together with a derogation for ships already in use. The article recognises that the adjustment of existing ships could be costly, so a safeguard clause has been incorporated into the directive to allow owners of vessels to avoid an unreasonable expense.
The Commission proposes in passing technical adjustments to the current text, simplifying the system of publication of the list of maritime areas and reducing the derogation granted in Greece until 2007 to 2005, given the reduced number of vessels concerned.
Concerning the civil liability of transport companies, the Commission defines guidelines that it will translate by proposals if an international agreement that meets with Europe's satisfaction is not concluded at the diplomatic conference of the International Maritime Organisation in October/November this year. For the time being, recalls the Commission, the rules relating to compensation for damage caused to persons transported by sea are not fully harmonised, either at international level or at European level (…), and the protection of passengers varies from one Member State to the next.
To remedy this, the IMO has undertaken to revise the Athens Convention of 1974 establishing a fault liability system. The revision would bring in: 1) compulsory insurance requirements for passenger transport companies; 2) a strict liability system (i.e. without presumed fault on the part of the carrier in the case of death or injury), linked to rights to initiate direct action; 3) an in crease in the limits of liability in the case of death or corporal harm to passengers resulting from a navigational incident; and 4) an authorisation for the States that are party to the Convention to limit liability in the case of death or injury resulting from negligence on the part of the carrier.
If an agreement is reached, the Commission will propose a legislation for transposing it into Community law. In the contrary case, it would take measures similar to those under discussion.