EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MOBILITY AND TRANSPORT PASSENGER SHIP SAFETY EXPERT SUB-GROUP

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1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MOBILITY AND TRANSPORT i Directorate D - Logistics, maritime & land transport and passenger rights D.2 - Maritime safety Brussels, MOVE D2 (2016) PASSENGER SHIP SAFETY EXPERT SUB-GROUP BRUSSELS, 9 NOVEMBER 2016 SUMMARY OF THE MEETING The Commission was represented by Ms Christine Berg (DG MOVE, D.2) supported by Ms Petra Doubkova and Mr John Burke of the same unit and Mr Santiago Encabo and Mr Holger Meyer of EMSA. The morning session was open to stakeholder organisations selected as observers of this sub-group. The afternoon session was open only to EU and EEA authorities with the aim to discuss the inspections of ro-ro ferries and high-speed passenger craft in regular service in the framework of the REFIT fitness check results. 1. Welcome, opening of the session and approval of the agenda The Commission welcomed the representative of stakeholder organisations participating in the expert sub-group for the first time. The Commission recalled the rules of engagement and operation of the group, as specified in the call for applications. The list of nominated observers can be found on the Europa website, the register of Expert Groups: (searching for a sub-group to the Maritime Safety Group). The call for applications closed at the end of August Nonetheless, the Commission recalled the possibility to invite experts with specific knowledge of a subject on the agenda to take part in the work of the expert group on an ad-hoc basis. 13 Organizations' applications were found in order and accepted as observers of the EG. The agenda of the meeting was approved. 2. Follow-up to the REFIT fitness check on EU passenger ship safety legislation: State of play The Commission briefly informed on the actions following the recommendations of the REFIT fitness check on EU passenger ship safety legislation. On 6 June 2016, the Commission adopted proposal amending Directives 2009/45/EC, 98/41/EC and 1999/35/EC 1. These proposals are currently with the co-legislators. The Transport Council on 1 December 2016 is due to discuss a General Approach on the proposals amending Directives 2009/45/EC and 1999/35/EC and a progress report on the proposal amending Directive 98/41/EC. The Economic and Social Committee adopted opinions on all three proposals; the Committee of the Regions will not issue an opinion. 1 Reference: COM(2016) 369, COM(2016) 370 and COM(2016) 371.

2 Concerning the assessment of Directive 2003/25/EC and the corresponding call for tender 2, the Commission informed the participants that the tenders received are currently being evaluated and the result will be published as soon as possible. The study is expected to start early The objective is to compare the regulatory framework as provided by Directive 2003/25/EC with that to be provided in the future by SOLAS On this occasion, the Netherlands informed the group about a similar project carried out by the Technical University of Delft, the results of which are available upon request. Finally, the Commission highlighted that the initiative on developing a code for small passenger vessels, based on functional requirements, has been included in the Commission's Work Programme for 2017 under the heading Small Craft Code. The initiative is envisaged to take the form of a Proposal for a Council Recommendation and aims at facilitating and simplifying the construction and cross-border trade of small passenger vessels as well as their registration. The development of the Small Craft Code at technical level will be steered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and this expert sub-group is expected to actively contribute to this process. The key steps presented by EMSA in developing the Small Craft Code include several rounds of targeted stakeholder consultation and a workshop (foreseen for June 2017). In general, the experts welcomed the initiative (though one expert indicated that he could not support this initiative at all); it was also noted that the initiative proposed for 2017 is of a non-legislative nature and that it does not go into details, i.e. beyond the general goals and functional requirements in the goal based standard framework. Given the novelty of the proposed approach at EU level, its success will be determined by the political agreement on the safety goals and the uptake of the proposed functional requirements. Further layers of the goal based standard framework (including the verification mechanism and alternative means of compliance) could be developed at a later stage, subject to an assessment of policy options and their assessment. 3. Selected issues: Presentation and exchange of views The Commission presented a number of selected issues related to passenger ship safety for information and consideration of the group. The purpose of the discussion was to raise awareness of experts on the questions and views of national administrations and stakeholders in relation to their experience with implementing the existing passenger ship safety legislation. a) Distribution of life-rafts Following the meetings of the Committee on Safe Seas (COSS) on 8 March and 23 June 2016, the group discussed the adequacy of the requirement defined in the Annex I of Directive 2009/45/EC, with respect to capacity and stowing arrangement of life-rafts intended to throw-overboard. A number of experts considered the current requirements adequate, albeit some experts noted that the wording could be further clarified. b) Classification of High-Speed Craft The group discussed the requirements of the current Directive 2009/45/EC on passenger ship safety and Directive 2009/15/EC on common rules and standards 2 Reference: Call for tender MOVE/D2/

3 for ship inspection and surveys, according to which a newly built high-speed passenger vessel (made of composite materials and certified according to the provisions of the International Code for Safety of High Speed Craft, 2000) must be built following the specific rules issued by a recognized organization and be kept in Class during its service life. A number of experts confirmed that the high-speed craft is maintained under the classification society rules throughout their entire operational life. c) Life jackets The group discussed the provisions of SOLAS Chapter III Regulation 7.2 Lifejackets, with particular regard to the combination of number of lifejackets for infants with the duration of the voyage (points 2.1.1, and 2.1.3). While some experts questioned the clarity of the 24 hours duration of the voyage, others noted that this becomes irrelevant in case a life jacket is provided for every infant, child and adult on board. It was also questioned whether life-jackets should be stored in cabins, which was however considered dependent upon the corresponding emergency plans and procedures. d) Lifeboat drills The group discussed the requirements for the periodic servicing of launching appliances and on-load release mechanisms, as prescribed by SOLAS Ch. III Regulation 20/11.1/2 and MSC.1/Circular 1206 Rev. 1. Some experts noted that a number of elements need to be taken into consideration when analysing the causes of such accidents, for example the loading conditions, maintenance of lifeboats and competence of the crew, whether the test concerns the release mechanism or the lifeboats etc. 4. Inspection of ro-ro ferries and high-speed passenger craft in regular service: Lessons learned and proposed way forward In this session, dedicated to the national competent authorities, the experts discussed their experience in implementing Directive 1999/35/EC. The Commission recalled that the aim is to ensure a common understanding of the provisions related in particular to the regularity and content of inspections. In addition, the experts questioned the practical implications of inspecting the vessels in cabotage under the Port State Control framework. In view of the forthcoming amendments to Directive 1999/35/EC (and Directive 2009/16/EC), it was agreed to continue the discussion at the expert level once these amendments have been adopted by the co-legislators. The Commission also highlighted the recommendation of the REFIT fitness check to promote the voluntary application of Directive 1999/35/EC to Classes B, C and D of roro ferries and high-speed passenger craft in regular service. As reported in the results of the REFIT fitness check (COM(2015)508), 4 Member States have so far decided to extend the scope of the Directive's application: IT and EE for all classes, ES and HR for class B. Although the direct link between the inspections and the accidents cannot be demonstrated, the decision of these Member States to extend the Directive's application appears to have has proven to have positively contributed to the safety record of these ships. 3

4 The Commission noted that the experience of those Member States who decided to extend the scope of the Directive to other classes of vessels would be much welcome and invited the experts to share their views on this issue in the future and reflect upon the operational implications of such decision. 5. Next meeting Next meeting of the group is scheduled for 30 March It will be dedicated to the development of the Small Craft Code and to the discussion on the targeted questionnaire that will be in the meantime circulated by EMSA. 4

5 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS No NAME OF REPRESENTED BODY 1. ANEC 2. Belgium-F.O.D. Mobiliteit en Vervoer 3. British Marine Federation 4. BRITTANY FERRIES 5. CLIA 6. CLIA 7. Croatia -Ministry of the Seat, Transport and Infrastructure 8. Danish Maritime Authority 9. DGRM 10. ECSA European Community Shipowners Associations 11. ECSA European Community Shipowners Associations 12. EMSA 13. European Boating Industry 14. Finnish Transport Safety Agency; Trafi 15. France -Ministère de l'écologie, du développement durable et de l'énergie Direction des Affaires maritimes 16. Germany -Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure 17. Hellenic Coast Guard 18. IACS 19. ICS 20. ILAMA 21. ILAMA/Survitec Group 22. INTERFERRY 23. Ireland -Marine Surveyors office 24. Italian Coast Guard 25. Latvia -Maritime Safety Department Maritime Administration 26. Lithuanian Maritime Safety Administration 27. NORSAFE ACADEMY 28. Norwegian Maritime Authority 5

6 No NAME OF REPRESENTED BODY 29. Poland -Maritime Office Gdynia 30. SEA EUROPE 31. STENA LINE 32. Swedish Transport Agency 33. The Netherlands -Directoraat-Generaal Bereikbaarheid 34. UK -Maritime and Coastguard Agency 6