TITLE IIICONTROL MEASURES

CHAPTER II Port state measures

Article 22Denial of use of port

1.

Member States shall not allow a third-country vessel to use their ports for landing, transhipping or processing fisheries products caught in the GFCM Agreement area and shall deny it access to port services, including, inter alia, refuelling and re-supplying services, if the vessel:

(a)

does not comply with the requirements of this Regulation;

(b)

is included in a list of vessels that have engaged in, or have supported, IUU fishing adopted by a regional fisheries management organisation; or

(c)

does not have a valid authorisation to engage in fishing or fishing-related activities in the GFCM Agreement area.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, nothing shall prevent Member States from allowing, in situations of force majeure or distress within the meaning of Article 18 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea17, a third-country vessel from using their ports for services strictly necessary to remedy such situations.

2.

Paragraph 1 shall apply in addition to the provisions on denial of use of port provided for by Article 4(2) and Article 37(5) and (6) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.

3.

Where a Member State has denied the use of its ports to a third-country vessel in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2, it shall promptly notify the master of the vessel, the flag State, the Commission and the Executive Secretary of the GFCM of such action.

4.

Where the grounds for denial referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 no longer apply, the Member State shall withdraw its denial and notify the addressees referred to in paragraph 3 of that withdrawal.