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The European Commission (EC) recently presented five legislative proposals to modernise European Union rules on maritime safety and prevent water pollution from ships.
With 75 per cent of the EU's external trade being seaborne, maritime transport is not only the artery of a globalised economy, but also a lifeline for the EU's islands, peripheral, and remote maritime regions.
Although maritime safety in EU waters is currently very high, with few fatalities and no recent major oil spills, more than 2,000 marine accidents and incidents are still reported every year.
The EC said the legislative proposals will will align EU rules with international regulations, securing a level playing field for the sector while improving implementation and enforcement through digitalisation and more EU cooperation.
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) will facilitate the implementation of the new requirements through the support it will offer member states' administration to enforce the new rules. A separate proposal puts forward changes to EMSA's mandate and incorporates these new tasks.
Modernised maritime safety rules
Three out of the five proposals are focusing on modernising and improving maritime safety rules. They pay special attention to port state control and maritime accident investigations, strengthening the enforcement of rules to reduce incidents and accidents, ultimately preventing loss of human life and environmental pollution.
The package of proposals includes:
Tackling ship-source pollution
The proposals also aim to prevent any type of illegal discharges into European seas, which is essential to lower the environmental impact of maritime transport activities and preserve the marine ecosystem. Achieving this requires that illegal discharges are detected, infringements are pursued and perpetrators of illegal activities are sanctioned.
To achieve this, the proposal:
Revamped mandate for European Maritime Safety Agency
The proposal updates EMSA's mandate to better reflect the growing role the agency plays in many maritime transport areas, including safety, pollution prevention and environmental protection, climate action, security, surveillance and crisis management, and digitalisation – including the new safety and sustainability tasks emanating from this legislative package.
For example, the commission and the member states will rely on EMSA's support when implementing the FuelEU Maritime Regulation and extending the EU Emissions Trading System to maritime transport. The agency will also continue assisting the commission and the member states with maritime surveillance, cybersecurity resilience and crisis preparedness and play a significant role in simplifying reporting between member states through the use of IT tools, while continuing to offer training and capacity building for member states administrations.
Next steps
The proposals will now be considered by the European Parliament and the Council in the ordinary legislative procedure.