1.For the purposes of this Regulation, regulation 11 (Alternative security agreements) of the special measures to enhance maritime security of the SOLAS Convention may also apply to scheduled intra-Community shipping operating on fixed routes and using associated port facilities.
2.To that end, Member States may conclude among themselves, each acting on its own behalf, the bilateral or multilateral agreements provided for in the said SOLAS regulation. Member States may, in particular, consider such agreements in order to promote intra-Community short sea shipping.
The Member States concerned shall notify the agreements to the Commission and provide sufficient details of the measures to allow the Commission to consider whether the agreements compromise the level of security of other ships or port facilities not covered by the agreements. The details of the measures directly linked to national security, if any, may be omitted from the notification to the Commission.
The Commission shall examine whether the agreements guarantee an adequate level of protection, in particular as regards the requirements of paragraph 2 of the abovementioned SOLAS regulation 11, and whether they conform with Community law and are in accordance with the proper functioning of the internal market. If the agreements do not meet these criteria, the Commission shall within four months adopt a decision in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(3); in such cases, the Member States concerned shall revoke or adapt the agreements accordingly.
3.The periodic review of such agreements provided for in paragraph 4 of regulation 11 of the special measures to enhance maritime security must take place at intervals of no more than five years.
4.Member States may adopt, for domestic shipping and the port facilities as referred to in Articles 3(2) and 3(3) of this Regulation, equivalent security arrangements as provided for in regulation 12 (equivalent security arrangements) of the special measures to enhance maritime security of the SOLAS Convention, provided such security arrangements are as least as effective as those prescribed in Chapter XI-2 of the SOLAS Convention and the relevant mandatory provisions of the ISPS Code.
The Member State concerned shall communicate to the Commission sufficient details of such arrangements when they are adopted, and the outcome of periodic reviews thereof, at the latest five years after they were adopted or last reviewed.
The conditions of application of such arrangements shall be subject to the Commission inspections provided for in Article 9(4), (5) and (6) of this Regulation under the procedures defined therein.