Commission Regulation (EC) No 324/2008Show full title

CHAPTER III U.K. PROCEDURES FOR THE CONDUCT OF COMMISSION INSPECTIONS

Article 8 U.K. Notice of inspections

1. The Commission shall give at least six weeks notice of an inspection to the focal point of the Member State in whose territory it is to be conducted. In response to exceptional events, this period of notice may be reduced.

Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that notification of an inspection is kept confidential in order to ensure that the inspection process is not compromised.

2. The focal point shall be notified in advance of the intended scope of a Commission inspection.

Where a port facility is to be inspected, the focal point shall be informed in the notice whether:

(a) the inspection is to include ships at that port facility, or elsewhere in the port, during the inspection; and

(b) the inspection will include monitoring of the port under Article 13(2) of Directive 2005/65/EC.

For the purposes of point (b) ‘monitoring’ means verifying whether or not the provisions of Directive 2005/65/EC have been implemented by Member States and by the ports in their territory that have been notified to the Commission under Article 12 of Directive 2005/65/EC. In particular, monitoring means verifying that all provisions of Directive 2005/65/EC have been taken into account in the conduct of the port security assessments and the establishment of the port security plans and that the measures established thereunder are consistent with the provisions adopted under Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 for the port facilities located in the ports concerned.

3. The focal point shall:

(a) inform the relevant competent authorities in the Member State of the inspection;

(b) notify the Commission of those relevant competent authorities.

4. The focal point shall advise the Commission at least 24 hours in advance of the inspection, of the name of the flag State and the IMO number of ships expected to be at a port facility or port notified under the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 during the inspection.

5. Where the flag State is a Member State, the Commission shall, where practicable, inform the focal point of that Member State that the ship may be inspected when at the port facility.

6. Where the inspection of a port facility in a Member State is to include a ship of that Member State as flag State, the focal point shall liaise with the Commission to confirm whether or not the ship will be at the port facility during the inspection.

7. Where a ship previously identified to be inspected will not be berthed in the port during the inspection of the port facility, the Commission and the coordinator appointed under Article 9(3) shall agree an alternative ship to be inspected. This ship may be located at another port facility within the port. Paragraphs 5 and 8 of this Article shall still apply in these cases.

8. Commission inspections shall be carried out under the auspices of the Member State of the port facility exercising control and compliance measures under Regulation 9 of the special measures to enhance maritime security of the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea as amended (SOLAS Convention) when either:

(a) the flag State of the ship is not a Member State; or

(b) the ship was not included in the information provided pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article.

9. When notice of an inspection is given to the focal point, a pre-inspection questionnaire may be communicated for completion by the relevant competent authority or authorities, together with a request for the documents referred to in Article 4(2).

The notice shall also specify the date by which the completed questionnaire and documents referred to in Article 4(2) shall be returned to the Commission.

Article 9 U.K. Preparation of inspections

1. Commission inspectors shall undertake preparatory activities in order to ensure efficiency, accuracy and consistency of inspections.

2. The Commission shall provide the focal point with the names of the Commission inspectors mandated to conduct the inspection, and other details as appropriate. Those names shall include the name of the Team Leader for the inspection, who shall be a Commission inspector employed by the Commission.

3. For each inspection the focal point shall ensure that a coordinator is designated to make the practical arrangements associated with the inspection activity to be undertaken. During the inspection, the team leader shall be the primary contact for the coordinator.

Article 10 U.K. Conduct of inspections

1. A standard methodology shall be used to monitor the application by Member States of the maritime security requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 725/2004.

2. Member States shall ensure that Commission inspectors are accompanied at all times during the inspection.

3. Where a ship at a port facility is to be inspected and the flag State of the ship is not the Member State of the port facility, the Member State of the port facility shall ensure that the Commission inspectors are accompanied by an officer of an authority referred to in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 during the inspection of the ship.

4. Commission inspectors shall carry an identity card authorising them to carry out inspections on behalf of the Commission. The Member States shall ensure that Commission inspectors are able to obtain access to all areas required for inspection purposes.

5. A test shall only be performed after notification to and agreement with the focal point on its scope and purpose. The focal point shall undertake any necessary coordination with the competent authorities concerned.

6. Without prejudice to Article 11, the Commission inspectors shall, wherever appropriate and practicable, deliver an informal oral summary of their observations on the spot.

The relevant focal point shall be informed promptly of any major non-conformity with Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 or Directive 2005/65/EC identified by a Commission inspection, prior to completion of an inspection report in accordance with Article 11 of this Regulation.

However, in cases where a Commission inspector carrying out the inspection of a ship finds a major non-conformity requiring action under Article 16, the Team Leader shall inform the focal point of the Member State as port State immediately.

Article 11 U.K. Inspection report

1. Within six weeks of completion of an inspection, an inspection report shall be communicated by the Commission to the Member State. This inspection report may contain as appropriate the outcomes of the monitoring of the port undertaken in respect of Article 8(2)(b).

2. Where a ship has been inspected during the inspection of a port facility, the relevant parts of the inspection report shall also be sent to the Member State that is the flag State, if different from the Member State in which the inspection took place.

3. The Member State shall inform the inspected entities of the relevant observations of the inspection. However, the inspection report itself shall not be sent to the inspected entities.

4. The report shall detail the observations of the inspection, identifying any non-conformity or major non-conformity with Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 or Directive 2005/65/EC.

It may contain recommendations for corrective action.

5. When assessing the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 and Directive 2005/65/EC, one of the following classifications shall apply to each of the observations of the report:

(a) in conformity;

(b) in conformity, but improvement desirable;

(c) non-conformity;

(d) major non-conformity;

(e) not applicable;

(f) not confirmed.

Article 12 U.K. Response from the Member State

1. Within three months of the date of dispatch of an inspection report, the Member State shall submit to the Commission in writing a response to the report which:

(a) addresses the observations and recommendations; and

(b) provides an action plan, specifying actions and deadlines, to remedy any identified deficiencies.

2. Where the inspection report does not identify any non-conformity or major non-conformity with Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 or Directive 2005/65/EC, no response shall be required.

Article 13 U.K. Action by the Commission

1. The Commission may take any of the following steps in the event of non-conformity or major non-conformity with Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 or Directive 2005/65/EC and following receipt of the response of the Member State:

(a) submit comments to the Member State or request further explanation to clarify all or part of the response;

(b) conduct a follow-up inspection or monitoring to check the implementation of corrective actions, the minimum notice for such follow-up being two weeks;

(c) initiate an infringement procedure in respect of the Member State concerned.

2. Where a follow-up inspection of a ship is to be conducted, the Member State that is the flag State shall, where possible, inform the Commission of the ship’s future ports of call, so the Commission can decide where and when to carry out the follow-up inspection.