A3-0068/94

Resolution on a common policy on safe seas

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication on "A common policy for safe seas" and to the action programme contained therein (COM(93)0066 - C3-0122/93),

- having regard to the Council resolution of 8 June 1993 on a common policy on safe seas,

-having regard to the plan for improving maritime safety and reducing marine pollution adopted by the five EU Transport Ministers (D, F, B, UK, NL) on 26 January 1994,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A3-0068/94),

A.whereas little improvement in safety at sea can be detected in recent years with losses at sea of lives and of vessels continuing at a high level,

B.whereas, apart from the unacceptable loss of human lives, accidents at sea can cause immense and long-term damage to the environment and represent a significant waste of economic resources, both in the loss of ships and cargo and in the salvage and clean-up operations which they entail,

C.whereas the transport of goods by sea should be encouraged as part of a sustainable transport policy, relieving congestion and pollution on land,

D.whereas the Community shipping industry has declined in recent years, partly through an increase in the use of flags of convenience,

E.whereas the increased use of flags of convenience often means a lowering of standards in the fields of safety and of social protection,

F.whereas the Commission's proposals for positive measures to aid shipping have not been carried through by Council, despite the wishes expressed by Parliament, and in particular the proposed EUROS register has not been established,

G.whereas, given the international nature of the shipping industry and of the high seas on which it operates to a large extent, it is desirable for measures to improve safety at sea to be adopted and implemented as far as possible at international level,

H.whereas, therefore, the work of the IMO must be supported and encouraged, and the Community and its Member States should approve and enforce all relevant IMO conventions and resolutions,

I.whereas, nevertheless, there is a need for action to be taken also at Community level, in laying down standards for ship construction and in monitoring the condition of ships using Community ports and enforcing safety and social standards,

1.Welcomes the Commission communication on "a common policy for safe seas", approves the analysis contained therein, and urges that the action programme be carried out carefully and speedily;

2.Considers that the adoption of the line for specific operations on shipping in the 1994 Budget (line B2-705) is a useful first step in this area but that the action programme contained in the Commission communication requires a pluriannual financial engagement by the Community;

3.Welcomes the Commission proposals for common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organizations (COM(93)0218) and on the minimum level of training for maritime occupation (COM(93)0217), which it is considering in detail in separate reports;

4.Regrets that certain proposals which the Commission stated in its action programme would be adopted by it in 1993, to wit those on tightening port state control, on convergent application in the Community of certain IMO resolutions, and on common safety rules for marine equipment, have still not been referred to Parliament;

5.Looks forward to receiving these proposals in the very near future, and urges the Commission to expedite its work on the other proposals announced in the action programme;

6.Notes that the Commission communication makes no reference to pilotage; calls on the Commission, possibly in cooperation with the IMO, to propose international criteria for compulsory pilotage;

7.Supports the introduction of a comprehensive Vessel Traffic Management system to control shipping fairways in European Community waters, particularly for all vessels carrying oil and hazardous cargoes, and particularly in environmentally and economically sensitive areas; remarks that such a system must be devised as an aid to mariners, allowing them to exercise their seamanship, rather than being a blind, automated system which dictates to them;

8.Calls for the creation of compulsory shipping routes in order to prevent the passage of vessels transporting dangerous and pollutant substances through ecologically sensitive areas;

9.Calls, in the light of the recent accidents of the 'Braer' and the 'Aegean Sea', for action to be taken to improve tanker safety standards, taking account of the published findings of the relevant investigations and inquiries, which would include the installation of dual, fully independent fuel and auxiliary systems, of emergency systems fore and aft for being taken into tow, of anchoring systems that can be used in a mains power failure, and a system for safely transferring crew in perilous conditions from the accommodation area to the forecastle;

10.Calls for action to be taken also to improve safety standards of other types of ship and in particular container ships and bulk carriers; requests the Commission to present proposals for this, taking into account the desirability of having containers fitted with tracking devices to make their identification and recovery easier, and the need to ensure better loading procedures both to avoid containers being stacked four high and old containers being too heavily laden, and to avoid older bulk carriers being subjected to undue stress through the use of the most modern loading techniques;

11.Calls for the Commission to draw up proposals for such action, to be worked on in close cooperation with, and subsequently presented to, the IMO; considers it desirable, in the long term, for the European Union to itself become a full member of the IMO; in the shorter term the Union should itself become a contracting party to the relevant IMO conventions; calls on the Council and Member States to urge the adoption of such measures by the IMO but to be prepared, should there be insufficient progress within that body, to take action at Community level;

12.Calls on Member States to speed ratification of outstanding IMO Conventions and, where relevant, press for IMO Resolutions to be incorporated into Conventions so that their application becomes mandatory; as a first step, it is necessary to consider whether any of the IMO resolutions should be made mandatory at Community level for all vessels, whatever their flag;

13.Considers it vital for the improvement of safety at sea for the Community shipping industry to be strengthened by the adoption of the positive measures for shipping proposed by the Commission, and urges the Council to adopt them as soon as possible together with the proposal for the establishment of a EUROS register as amended by Parliament in its opinion of 26 October 1990 on maritime transport; notes that this Community register will require agreement among the Member States as to which Member State shall keep the register for the Union; stresses the importance of providing this additional alternative to flags of convenience as part of the fight against substandard ships, and to provide employment for European seamen;

14.Stresses that the greatest need in the pursuit of safe seas is for better enforcement of existing standards which should involve the strengthening of port state control with a reinforcement of Member States' inspectorates so as to reduce the number of sub-standard ships visiting European waters; calls on the Commission to make proposals for training and coordination of the work of national inspectorates at Community level and to examine to possibility of Community funding to ensure that all national inspectorates are able to operate with an equally high degree of efficiency;

15.Considers that there must be additional and better targeted checks on ships in European ports and more complete inspection procedures including checks on hull structure using advanced technologies and methodologies, with ships being regularly detained when repairs have to be carried out, and asks the Commission also to consider the establishment of a data information system to be available internationally providing the public with details of substandard ships detained on a month by month basis, something which could be included in its announced proposal to establish a list of cases which justify more than others the intensification of inspections on the grounds of their particular threat to safety or the environment;

16.Welcomes the Council directive establishing minimum reporting requirements on shippers, ship operators and shipmasters for vessels leaving or bound for Community ports and carrying dangerous or polluting goods, but urges that this legislation be completed as soon as possible by the introduction of a full mandatory reporting system giving all Member States ready access to all relevant information to be filed for all ships using the Community's exclusive economic zone;

17.Believes that national coastguard services should be strengthened, expanded and consolidated into a single European coastguard service to enable them to undertake fuller monitoring and control of shipping in coastal waters, and asks the Commission to investigate the possibility of Community training and coordination for these services and examine the measures necessary to create a European coastguard service;

18.Calls on the Commission to initiate a European involvement in a Navigation Satellite System in order to enable accurate positioning of vessels operating in the waters of Member States and monitoring of vessels with dangerous cargoes;

19.Believes that the attribution of a high percentage of accidents at sea to "human error" covers a large number of factors ranging from poor training through inadequate conditions of health and safety on board, including overlong hours of work and undermanning, to poor working conditions and inadequate ship maintenance; calls on the Commission to review manning levels and rest periods, to ban one-man bridge operation, to investigate the problem of fatigue including the excessive working of overtime, and to ensure that officers and crew aboard ship are able to understand fully instructions given using a common language;

20.Calls on the Commission to consider the implications of creating a European register for shipping which, together with established port state control arrangements, would allow the Community to monitor properly, influence and control ships using EC waters and to ensure compliance with international maritime conventions;

21.Considers that the objectives of the common policy on safe seas should be reflected in Community research programmes;

22.Stresses the need for local and regional involvement in the measures adopted under the action programme;

23.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and the International Maritime Organization.