Council Directive 98/18/EC (repealed)Dangos y teitl llawn

Council Directive 98/18/EC

of 17 March 1998

on safety rules and standards for passenger ships (repealed)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 84(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty(3),

(1) Whereas within the framework of the common transport policy further measures must be adopted to enhance safety in maritime transport;

(2) Whereas the Community is seriously concerned about the latest shipping casualties in which passenger ships were involved resulting in a massive loss of life; whereas persons using passenger ships and high speed passenger craft throughout the Community have the right to expect and to rely on an appropriate level of safety on board;

(3) Whereas work equipment and personal protective equipment of workers are not covered by this Directive, because the provisions of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work(4) and the relevant provisions of its relevant individual directives are applicable to the use of such equipment on passenger ships engaged on domestic voyages;

(4) Whereas the provision of maritime passenger transport services between Member States has already been liberalised by Regulation (EEC) No 4055/86(5); whereas the application of the principle of freedom to provide services to maritime transport within Member States (maritime cabotage), provided for by Regulation (EEC) No 3577/92(6), will be completed throughout the Community within the next few years;

(5) Whereas to attain a high level of safety, and to remove barriers to trade, it is necessary to establish harmonised safety standards at an appropriate level for passenger ships and craft operating domestic services; whereas standards for vessels operating international voyages are being developed within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO); whereas this Directive introduces procedures to request action at IMO in order to bring in line the standards for international voyages with the standards of this Directive;

(6) Whereas, as proposed by the Commission in its communication ‘A Common Policy on Safe Seas’, the Council, in its Resolution of 8 June 1993 on a common policy on safe seas(7), and the European Parliament, inter alia in its Resolution on safety atsea of 27 October 1994(8), urged the Commission to submit as soon as possible formal proposals concerning safety rules for passenger ships when engaged on domestic voyages;

(7) Whereas, in view, in particular, of the internal market dimension of maritime passenger transport, action at Community level is the only possible way to establish a common level of safety for ships throughout the Community;

(8) Whereas, in view of the proportionality principle, a Council Directive is the appropriate legal instrument as it provides a framework for a uniform and compulsory application of the safety standards by Member States, while leaving to each Member State the right to decide the implementation tools that best fit its internal system;

(9) Whereas in the interests of improving safety and avoiding distortions of competition the common safety requirements should apply to passenger ships and high speed passenger craft engaged on domestic voyages in the Community, irrespective of the flag they fly; whereas it is however necessary to exclude some categories of ships for which the rules of this Directive are technically unsuitable or economically unviable;

(10) Whereas passenger ships should be divided into different classes depending upon the range and conditions of the sea areas in which they operate; whereas high speed passenger craft should be categorised in accordance with the provisions of the High Speed Craft Code established by the IMO;

(11) Whereas the main reference framework for the safety standards should be the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention, as amended, which encompasses internationally agreed standards for passenger ships and high speed passenger craft engaged on international voyages, as well as appropriate Resolutions by the IMO and other measures complementing and interpreting this Convention;

(12) Whereas the various classes of both new and existing passenger ships require a different approach for establishing safety requirements guaranteeing an equivalent safety level in view of the specific needs and limitations of these various classes; whereas it is appropriate to make distinctions in the safety requirements to be respected between new and existing ships since imposing the rules for new ships on existing ships would imply such extensive structural changes as to make them economically unviable;

(13) Whereas the financial and technical implications arising from the upgrading of existing ships to the standards provided for by the Directive justify certain transitional periods; whereas in the light of the very significant number of islands in Greece, and the need to maintain constant frequent maritime connections between them and the serious effect on such transport operations and related employment which would arise by immediate application of major upgrading requirements to existing ships of more than 27 years of age on 1 October 2000, it is appropriate to provide for derogations from these requirements for such vessels operating exclusively between ports in Greece, the operation of which will cease on all domestic voyages in the Community not later than on the date on which they reach the age of 35 years;

(14) Whereas in view of the substantial differences in conception, construction and use of high speed passenger craft compared to traditional passenger ships, such craft should be required to respect special rules;

(15) Whereas shipborne marine equipment, complying with the provisions of Council Directive 96/98/EC of 20 December 1996 on marine equipment(9), when installed on board a passenger ship, should not be subject to additional tests since such equipment is already subject to the standards and procedures of that Directive;

(16) Whereas in order to ensure full application of this Directive, Member States should lay down a system of penalties for breaching the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and may control the compliance with the provisions of this Directive based on those envisaged in Council Directive 95/21/EC of 19 June 1995 concerning the enforcement, in respect of shipping using Community ports and sailing in the waters under jurisdiction of the Member States, of international standards for ship safety, pollution prevention and shipboard living and working conditions (port State control)(10);

(17) Whereas, subject to control under the Committee procedure, Member States may adopt additional safety requirements if justified by local circumstances, permit the use of equivalent standards, or adopt exemptions from the provisions of this Directive under certain operating conditions, or adopt safeguard measures in exceptional dangerous circumstances;

(18) Whereas it is necessary for a Committee composed of the representatives of the Member States to assist the Commission in the effective application of this Directive; whereas the Committee set up in Article 12 of Council Directive 93/75/EC of 13 September 1993 concerning minimum requirements for vessels bound for or leaving Community ports and carrying dangerous or polluting goods(11) can assume this function;

(19) Whereas certain provisions of this Directive, as well as Annex I, may be adapted through this Committee to take account of developments at international level and specifically amendments to International Conventions;

(20) Whereas for the control of the effective implementation and enforcement of this Directive, surveys are to be carried out on new and existing passenger ships and craft; whereas compliance with this Directive has to be certified by or on behalf of the administration of the flag State,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

(1)

OJ C 238, 16.8.1996, p. 1.

(2)

OJ C 212, 22.7.1996, p. 21.

(3)

Opinion of the European Parliament of 5 September 1996 (OJ C 277, 23.9.1996, p. 19), Council Common Position of 17 June 1997 (OJ C 293, 26.9.1997, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 6 November 1997 (OJ C 358, 24.11.1997, p. 27).

(4)

OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.

(5)

OJ L 378, 31.12.1986, p. 1.

(6)

OJ L 364, 12.12.1992, p. 7.

(7)

OJ C 271, 7.10.1993, p. 1.

(8)

OJ C 323, 21.11.1994, p. 176.

(9)

OJ L 46, 17.2.1997, p. 25.

(10)

OJ L 157, 7.7.1995, p. 1.

(11)

OJ L 247, 5.10.1993, p. 19.