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ome 90 % of the goods traffic to and from theEuropean Union is transported by sea. The

European Union has adopted a range of

rules on maritime safety and security to

ensure quality shipping that respects the environ-

ment and guarantees an optimal level of protection

for European citizens.

In addition, the maritime sector contributes to the

competitiveness of European business with effective

solutions to the growing mobility of people and goods.

Europe has adopted rules to protect the environment

and promote economic activity. Operators benefit

from a level playing field and equitable, competitiveconditions compared with those who do not respect

the rules of the game. Seafarers benefit in terms of

their standard of working conditions and mutual

recognition of quality training.

The European Union has therefore defined a global

strategy intended to make the Communitys fleet

more competitive, by creating a level playing field

within the Union and by means of multilateral agree-

ments providing open access to maritime transport

services.

If it is essential to have rules,it is equally essential thatthey are applied.The Commission ensures that this is

the case in the Member States through the European

Maritime Safety Agency. This Agency has recently

been established in Lisbon and is now fully opera-

tional, able to assist the Commission and Member

States to apply European regulations on safety, the

prevention of and fight against pollution and the

training of seafarers.

Finally, recent developments within the International

Maritime Organisation and the International Labour

Organisation have confirmed the important role of

the European Union at international level.

With successive enlargements, including the one tak-

ing place on 1 January 2007, Europe now has a privi-leged position, thanks both to the length of its coast-

lines and the importance of its maritime sector.

Maritime transport in Europe has the wind in its sails!

Jacques Barrot

Vice-President responsible for transport

PREFACE

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MARITIME TRANSPORT POLICY


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MARITIME TRANSPORT:A VITAL SECTOR

ver the centuries, Europes economic successhas been built on its use of maritime trans-

port to trade with the rest of the world.

Today, almost 90 % of the European Unions

external trade and more than 40 % of its inter-

nal trade goes by sea.That equates to about 3.5 billion

tonnes of freight loaded and unloaded in EU ports

every year. The EUs thriving maritime industries

include shipbuilding, ports, fishing and a number of

related activities and services employing about 3 mil-

lion people in total. The EU is committed to support-

ing those sectors so it continues to thrive and pro-

vides jobs in an innovative, safe and environmentally

sustainable manner.

A level playing fieldfor the EU fleet

Over the past few decades, the EU-flagged merchant

fleet has faced strong competition from non-EU

flagged ships. And this competition has not always

been fair as a result of more favourable tax regimes

and, above all, lower labour costs. Competitors have

gained this advantage through social and safety con-

ditions below European norms and standards, and

even by not respecting international rules.

In 1997, the Commission adopted guidelines for state

aid, placing the emphasis on improving employment,

skills and safety in the maritime sector.The guidelines

also allowed EU staff working on European-registered

ships to benefit from reduced tax and social security

contributions.As a result of this Commission initiative,

figures show that the European-flagged fleet has

increased significantly since 1997.

New guidelines

In 2004, the Commission adopted further improved

guidelines designed to speed up the re-flagging

process. In particular, they address shipowners who

operate less than 60 % of their tonnage under EU

flags, in Member States where EU registration of ship-

ping has decreased in the preceding three years.The

aim is to encourage shipowners to maintain the ton-

nage they register under an EU flag, or risk losing out

on aid they may receive for additional ships sailingunder third-country flags.This initiative has produced

even more dramatic results.

Supporting Europes islands

Europe has scores of islands whose sparse popula-

tions rely on sea transport links and ferry services that

are not always profitable.Without access to the main-

land many of these communities would wither and

die. While the EU does not allow transport subsidies

that can distort competition, Community regulations

do permit public subsidy for services to and from,andbetween, islands, as long as they are awarded trans-

parently and there is no discrimination against other

transport operators.

Sustainable maritimeemployment and trainingfor Europes seafarers

Well-trained, motivated seafarers are essential for the

operation of the EU fleet. Without good quality per-sonnel, ship operations simply cannot be run safely

and efficiently.

While demand is increasing, there has been an acute

shortage (1) of European seafarers mainly officers

in Europe. This is expected to rise considerably if no

corrective measures are taken. In 2002, the EU fleet

had a shortfall of around 30 000 trained officers a

deficit of about 30 %.

The Commissions 2001 communication on training

and recruitment brought to light this growing decline

of European seafarers, and recommended actions to

reverse the trend. In particular, it encourages nationalmaritime training systems to share best practice and

includes measures to raise awareness about seafaring

careers.

More recently, in response to conclusions adopted by

the Council in 2003 on Improving the image of

Community shipping and attracting young people to

the seafaring professions (2), the Commission pre-

sented a working document on the main components

of its action in the field of maritime employment (3).

O

(1) Joint Study of the Federation of Transport Workers Unions in the European Union (FST) and of the European Community Shipowners

Associations (ECSA):Improving the employment opportunities for EU seafarers: An investigation to identify seafarerstraining and educa-

tion priorities (1998); Study on the maritime professions in the European Union (financed by the Commission in 1996) and the Metharresearch project (harmonisation of European maritime education and training schemes, which was funded by the Commission under the

fourth framework programme for research and technological development).

(2) Conclusions adopted on 5 June 2003, during the Greek Presidency.

(3) SEC(2005)1400/2, 11.11.2005.


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Forging relationsin a global market

Countries outside the EU may be competitors in the

global market, but good relations are essential if the

worlds sea lanes and ports are to support interna-

tional trade. The EUs strategy is to maintain and

improve relations in the context of liberalising, wher-

ever possible, services for maritime transport, while

securing non-discriminatory treatment for EU ships in

third-country ports. To this end, the EU has recently

forged agreements with countries like Russia,Ukraine

and South Korea that allow for mutual access to themarket for maritime transport services, and provide

the right to establish maritime companies. The EU

concluded a shipping agreement with China in

December 2002 and is currently in similar negotia-

tions with India.

The European Commission also takes part in regular

talks on international maritime policy, especially relat-

ing to issues such as market regulation and safety.

It coordinates Europes point of view in negotiating

forums such as the International Maritime Organi-

sation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation

(ILO) where it recently contributed to the adoption ofthe Convention on Maritime Labour Standards on

23 February 2006.

Maritime innovation,research and development

The Commission is committed to supporting maritime

research. Indeed, a plethora of R & D activities relating

to sea transport have been funded over the years

through the EUs framework programmes for research.

The aim is to improve the safety and efficiency ofmaritime transport, as well as its environmental

performance.

Maritime research was given a significant boost in

2005 with the establishment of Waterborne, an EU-

backed technology platform. Waterborne promises

to bring together relevant stakeholders, improving

the coherence of research in the sector.

The main ongoing research activity conducted by the

Energy and Transport DG in this area is the four-year

MarNIS project started in November 2004. The results

will prepare e-Maritime, a step change in the use of

information technology in the sector. MarNIS aims at

developing systematic use of modern localisation

and telecommunication techniques for all operatorsin the maritime sector. This would allow both better

observance of all the wide-ranging legislation gov-

erning the sector, and easier communication

between ship and shore to solve a vast array of issues

related to the handling of ships, their cargo, passen-

gers and crew.

Proposals will be made to ease the tasks of both

administrations and ships bridges, governing the use of

existing, and soon mandatory, hardware and software.

Shipshore/shipship/shoreshore messaging/controls

will soon become automated, hugely simplifying the

existing paper-based administration, control andexchange systems. The project will enable all control

administrations and shipowners/operators/captains

activities to benefit. See http://www.marnis.org/

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uropean companies face growing costs asthey move their goods to market. Europes

roads are saturated with ever-growing num-

bers of trucks, congestion and pollution

problems. Add to that high fuel prices and the

increasing cost of road tolls, and it is little wonder that

the Commission and other transport industry players

want to develop multimodal solutions that can take

some of the burden off Europes roads.

An efficient multimodal system using long and short

sea journeys,rail and inland waterways as well as road

should be very appealing to Europes business sec-

tor. Transfer of goods via different modes has thepotential to be cost-effective and sustainable boost-

ing both Europes economy and environment.

Transport operators and their clients want to be sure

that multimodal solutions are efficient to run and reli-

able.The EU is committed to increasing confidence in

and use of multimodal transport.That is why, as part of

wider freight-transport logistics, it supports the devel-

opment of:

improved quality standards which can be used

both as a marketing tool and as a way to enhance

fair competition in the transport sector;

better training to improve the skills and knowledge

of those who have to organise the transport of

goods;

improved statistics which can be used to inform

transport policies, measure their impact and antici-

pate future needs;

methods to fully integrate short-sea shipping in the

multimodal door-to-door chain.

Developingshort-sea shipping

Short-sea shipping grew by 32 % between 1995 and

2004, a similar growth rate to road freight transport.

Short-sea shipping carries 39 % of all tonne-kilometres

in the EU-25, comparing favourably to roads share of

44 %. Nevertheless, more needs to be done to elimi-

nate obstacles to short-sea shipping and integrate it

more closely in multimodal door-to-door chains.

In 2003, the Commission presented a programme for

the promotion of short-sea shipping. It contains

14 actions that aim to make the mode more competi-

tive and simplify administrative complexities.

The Commission has worked closely with Member

States and industry to carry out the actions. For exam-

ple,they have:

streamlined administrative and customs proce-

dures;

identified and tackled bottlenecks that have been

blocking the development of short-sea shipping;

produced guidance for a network of 21 business-

driven short-sea promotion centres that work to

raise the profile of the mode all over Europe.

See http://www.shortsea.info/

In July 2006, the Commission carried out a mid-term

review of the 2003 programme, which has led to

retargeting certain actions towards more efficient

promotion of short-sea shipping.

EFFICIENT MULTIMODALLOGISTICS IN EUROPE

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Motorways of the seaMaking more use of the seas around Europe to trans-

port people and goods could help to reduce road con-

gestion. If this modal shift of traffic to the sea is to

work, however, transport companies will have to offer

their customers reliable, cost-effective and efficient

services. The Commission is promoting motorways of

the sea as a way of meeting that need. These key sea

routes between EU Member States offer regular, high-

quality services that, combined with other transport

modes, provide shorter and quicker access routes to

Europes outlying regions and that allow natural barri-

ers such as the Alps and the Pyrenees to be bypassed.

And because sea transport is less polluting than other

modes, developing motorways of the sea will bring

considerable environmental benefits.

Through its trans-European networks (TEN-T) pro-

gramme of activities, the Commission is supporting

the development of motorways of the sea in four

regions:

the Baltic Sea;

western Europe Atlantic Ocean, North Sea/Irish

Sea;

south-western Europe the western Mediter-

ranean Sea;

south-eastern Europe the Adriatic, Ionian and

eastern Mediterranean Seas.

Essentially, the aim is to develop high-quality, inte-

grated short-sea shipping connections that provide

door-to-door services which can match or better

those offered by road-only journeys. Member States

will select routes in view of their current and potential

value to the EU economy. Concentrating traffic on

such busy routes is more likely to generate the critical

mass required to produce economically viable andefficient services.

A common Europeanmaritime area

Future developments, such as long-range identifica-

tion and tracking (LRIT) systems using satellite com-

munications, could have highly beneficial effects on

shipping. This is particularly important for short-sea

shipping and motorways of the sea where a ship sail-

ing between two Member States leaves the EU cus-

toms territory each time it leaves a port to re-enter

that territory in the destination port. The Commission

plans to launch a wider debate on a common

European maritime area where both the ships jour-ney and goods could be reliably and securely tracked

all the way along, thereby decreasing the need for

individual controls in purely intra-Community trade.

Feasibility studies on all four corridors have been

funded from the TEN-T budget in 200506. For

the Baltic Sea, a master-plan study addressing

both goods flows and maritime infrastructure

was completed in spring 2006.The next step is to

try out real concrete projects, and Finland and

Germany have published a call for proposals

seeking partners to implement landsea trans-

port chains through their two countries ports.With strong interest in the call,projects selected

will be eligible to seek funding from the TEN-T

budget in the forthcoming call for proposals.

MARCO POLO

To encourage modal shift, i.e. to ensure the

expected increase in road freight transport isdiverted to other modes,the Commission has run

the Marco Polo programme to provide support to

commercial operators setting up services which

focus on modes other than road. Marco Polo

funds may be used to support the initial opera-

tion of new services, although these should

become self-funding once established, as well as

encouraging cooperation amongst different

operators in the freight logistics sector. A new

phase of the Marco Polo programme, running

from 2007 to 2013,was adopted in 2006,and will

have a total budget of EUR 400 million.


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76


he terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001,and subsequent attacks in Madrid and

London, show how vulnerable transport

infrastructure is to sabotage. All transport

modes now have to find the right balance

between providing commercial openness and effec-

tive security procedures.

In the field of maritime transport, the EU has been

active in recent years, legislating to improve security

at ports and at sea to complement international

efforts in this important area.

The raised threat needs a global response, and after

the terror attacks in the United States the Inter-national Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted a new

Chapter XI-2 in its Convention on Safety of Life at Sea

(SOLAS) and the International Ship and Port Facility

Security (ISPS) Code.The ISPS Code includes detailed

requirements for governments and port authorities

to improve security at port facilities, based on security

assessments and plans covering issues such as cargo

monitoring, inspection and control of access. In sup-

port, the Commission adopted a regulation on

enhancing ship and port facility security.The aim is to

protect ships and ports from terrorism;it incorporates

the ISPS Code into European law and extends itsapplication to domestic operations with the EU.

Boosting port security

The above initiative only covers the ships themselves

and the parts of port terminals in which ships are

loaded and unloaded. Therefore, to enhance security

at European ports further, the Commission put for-

ward further proposals, which must be fully imple-

mented by Member States by June 2007. This direc-

tive, on enhancing port security, aims to bring a coor-

dinated approach to security matters in ports as awhole and requires that, for each port:

a port security assessment is undertaken to decide

what measures are required;

a port security plan is produced that sets out the

ports security arrangements;

a port security officer is appointed to coordinate

security measures; and

a security authority is established to implement the

security plan and to guarantee an effective link

between decision makers and security on the

ground.

The EU-wide approach to port security should alsohelp to establish efficient and effective networking

between European ports.

Intermodal security

In February 2006, the Commission also adopted a

communication and proposed legislation that aims to

enhance supply-chain security. Complementing the

new rules for maritime security, the proposals call all

operators in the logistic chain to bring their security

performance up to minimum European standards. Inreturn, they will receive secure operatorstatus, which

will allow them fast-track treatment at various nodes

and a one-stop-shop approach with customs for

external trade.

MARITIME SECURITY:PROTECTION

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n recent years,the EU and its Member Stateshave been at the forefront of improving

maritime safety legislation and promoting

high-quality standards. The aim is to elimi-

nate substandard shipping, increase the protec-

tion of crews and passengers, reduce the risk of envi-

ronmental pollution, and ensure that operators who

follow good practices are not put at commercial dis-

advantage by others who are prepared to take short

cuts with vessel safety.

EU action in the field of maritime transport, and in

particular maritime safety and protection of the envi-

ronment, generates significant added value to theinternational framework (IMO conventions). The

transposition of IMO rules into the EU legal system

ensures their enforcement across the entire European

Union. In addition, when feasible, the EU plays an

important role in improving international standards

by adopting stringent requirements regionally and

then promoting their adoption at international level.

Responding to disaster The Commission produced a first set of measures in

the early 1990s as a reaction to environmental catas-

trophes that struck Europes coastline. In December

1992, the Aegean Sea ran aground near La Corua,

Spain,and in the following month the Braergrounded

off the Shetland Islands, in the United Kingdom. Both

tankers spilled thousands of tonnes of oil, causing

widespread pollution.

The Commission responded in 1993 with its first spe-

cific communication for maritime safety, A common

policy on safe seas, which called for: the universal implementation of existing inter-

national maritime safety rules;

complete enforcement of those rules via port state

control (see page 11); and

the development of navigational aids and traffic

monitoring systems to improve maritime safety.

The Sea Empress sinking off Pembrokeshire, in the UK,

with 72 000 tonnes of oil spilt in February 1996,

showed that these measures would not be sufficient

to clean up European coasts. Then on 12 December

1999, a major disaster struck the coast of Europe: theErika sank off the French Atlantic coast causing a spill

of heavy fuel and massive damage to the coastal and

sea environment, as well as to the local fishing and

tourism industries. In response to this disaster a first

package of safety measures Promoting safer seas

was proposed.

The Erika 1 package came into force in July 2003 with

measures aimed at:improving existing port state con-

trol measures; strengthening the legislation as

regards classification societies which conduct struc-

tural safety checks on ships on behalf of flag states;

and developing a timetable to phase out the use ofsingle-hull oil tankers worldwide.

MARITIME SAFETY:HIGH STANDARDS ACROSS THE EU

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98

A subsequent set of measures, known as the Erika 2

package, followed, with three new steps to improve

safety:

the creation of a European Maritime Safety Agency

to bolster the enforcement of safety rules (see box

page 10);

the setting-up of a Community maritime monitor-

ing and information system for vessels sailing inEuropean waters;

a mechanism to increase compensation for victims

of oil spills.

Just as Europe was recovering from the Erika disaster,

another single-hull tanker called the Prestige went

down off the Galician coast in November 2002. The

Prestige was carrying heavy fuel oil and the pollution

caused major damage to Spanish and French coastal

ecosystems.

The Commissions response was swift as it developed

new safety measures in record time. As a result single-hull oil tankers were banned from carrying heavy fuel

oil in and out of European ports from October 2003

and the timetable for the withdrawal of these types of

tankers by 2010 was accelerated. In addition, legis-

lation to hit polluters with tougher sanctions was

introduced.

Pro-active policies:a third package of measures

In November 2005, the Commission drafted another

set of proposals, designed to improve Europes

maritime safety regime still further. This third package

is based on the efforts of the Commission to improve

safety using a proactive approach rather than reacting

in response to maritime accidents. The aim is to

reinforce the existing European maritime safety

legislation and to transpose major international

instruments into Community law. Therefore, the

Commissions proposals target substandard ships,while making it easier for reputable owners/operators

to go about their business.

There are seven key measures,all designed to supple-

ment and strengthen existing legislation.

Reinforcing prevention of accidents and pollution

1. Improve the quality of European flags the aim is to

ensure that all Member States uphold international

rules on ships that sail under their flags.

2. Review legislation on port state control this should

improve the quality and effectiveness of inspections

and target less well-run ships (see page 11).

3. Amend the directive on traffic monitoring

strengthening the legal framework to help ships in

distress, and supporting the continued develop-

ment of SafeSeaNet (see box page 12).

4. Improve rules relating to classification societies the

aim is to improve the quality of work carried out by

these societies, which are responsible for visiting,

inspecting and certifying ships.

Effective accident response

5. Develop a harmonised European framework for

accident investigation, improving the effectiveness,objectivity and transparency of investigations, and

making investigating bodies more independent.

6. Introduce regulations ensuring fair compensation to

passengers in the event of an accident.

7. Introduce a directive on shipowners civil liability

coupled with a mandatory insurance scheme.



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Raising safety standardsfor ships and seafarers

Making sure a vessel is fit for purpose is primarily the

responsibility of the shipowner and operator.

Traditionally, the outside world has relied on the

checks made by the flag state to ensure owners and

operators are meeting their obligations. But despite

the commitments these states have all made to

enforce internationally agreed rules, the ability and/or

willingness of many to do so varies enormously. The

Commission is working within international forums to

see this situation improved, seeking to have statesmeet their commitments and reducing the incentives

for shipowners to flag their vessels in states seen as

less stringent in their application of international

rules. Likewise the Commission also aims to ensure

that the classification societies, which provide the

technical assistance to flag states in verifying ships

compliance with the rules, work professionally and

apply standards correctly.

Encouraging quality control

of classification societiesAs Europe coped with the Erika and Prestige accidents,

the Commission pushed to strengthen existing regu-

lations relating to classification societies. New regula-

tions were adopted to raise the quality of work carried

out by these societies. If their performance falls short

of the required standard, their authorisation to oper-

ate in the EU can be withdrawn.

The Commissions third package of maritime safety

measures also includes proposals to improve the work

of classification societies. It wants to create a new and

independent system of quality control which all soci-eties must adhere to and reform the current system of

sanctions,allowing a wide range of sanctions,including

financial penalties adapted to the realities of the sector.

The Commission believes this could be achieved by

harmonising and strengthening structures that have

already been established by the 10 largest societies.

THE EUROPEAN MARITIME

SAFETY AGENCY

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)s

main role is to provide the European Commis-

sion and Member States with scientific and tech-

nical support relating to legislation for mar-

itime safety, maritime security, pollution pre-

vention and pollution response. The agency is

also committed to improving cooperationbetween Europes maritime countries. It also

works closely with international organisations

and relevant industry players. EMSAs opera-

tional duties include looking after the EUs

SafeSeaNet project,essential for the monitoring

of maritime traffic around Europe, and assisting

Member States with additional operational

means to respond to pollution caused by ships.

For more information:

http://www.emsa.europa.eu/


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Reinforcing vessel trafficmonitoring within Europe

Europes sea lanes are among the busiest in the world.

Sophisticated, well-run traffic monitoring systems are

therefore vital to avoid collisions and to monitor

potentially dangerous cargoes. The Commission is

committed to supporting the development of new

technology in this area,and has been at the forefront of

establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring

system called SafeSeaNet (see box). The current

package aims to improve traffic monitoring legislation,

by ensuring that all relevant Member States areconnected to SafeSeaNet, and that fishing vessels over

15 metres long are fitted with an automatic

identification system (AIS) to reduce the risk of

collisions.The proposal will also seek to direct vessels in

distress to the nearest suitable place of refuge, in

which the danger to life and the environment may be

minimised.

Reducing pollution,protecting the environment

As maritime oil disasters have proved, the environ-

ment is hit hard when ships carrying dangerous cargo

run into trouble. As noted above, the Commission is

keen to improve the safety of vessels carrying poten-

tially polluting cargo,hence the decision to ban single-

hull tankers in view of the risk of grounding. However,

that does not prevent unscrupulous or negligent

operators and crews from illegally discharging pollut-

ing substances into the sea. To counter this practice,

measures were introduced in 2000 to improve port

reception facilities for ship waste and cargo residues.

The directive aims to reduce marine pollution byensuring that all EU ports provide adequate waste

reception facilities, and by collecting a fee from all

ships whether they use the facilities or not, under the

polluter pays principle, which gives them an incentive

to deliver waste ashore rather than dispose of it ille-

gally at sea.

Stiffer sanctions

In July 2005, the EU adopted legislation which intro-duced stiffer sanctions for ship-sourced pollution.

Sanctions including criminal charges can be applied

to anyone including shipowners, ship managers,

charterers, classification societies, etc. who causes

pollution, either intentionally, recklessly or by serious

negligence.

SAFESEANET: IMPROVING

THE EXCHANGE OF

MARITIME INFORMATION

SafeSeaNet is an electronic data information

system that allows authorities to monitor the

movement of ships carrying potentially

hazardous cargo. Member States can share

information about potentially high-risk vessels,ensuring that they are better prepared to

respond to problems. The system will also

provide authorities with accurate arrival times

and details of waste-handling needs.