The Council of the European Union adopted on 18 November 2024 four new pieces of legislation of the so-called ‘maritime safety’ legislative package, namely those amending the relevant directives on:
– the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector
– ship-source pollution
– compliance with flag state requirements, and
– port state control.
The revised ‘package’ achieves a balance between, on the one hand, the need to ensure a high quality of shipping and, on the other, the need to safeguard the competitiveness of the European shipping sector, while also maintaining reasonable costs for operators and member states’ administrations. Overall, it will equip the EU with modern tools to support clean shipping by aligning EU rules with international standards while improving implementation and enforcement through an enhanced cooperation framework between European and national authorities.
The four legislative proposals form part of the maritime safety ‘package’ together with the one on the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). They were submitted by the Commission on 1 June 2023 aiming to modernise EU rules on maritime safety and reduce water pollution from ships. With 75% 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 and 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. Provisional agreements between the co-legislators on the four legislative proposals were reached in February this year.
Further information in the EU press release.
De Maribus 