4 MARITIME TRANSPORT SECURITY
(24536)
8566/03
COM(03)229
| Commission Communication on enhancing maritime transport security.
Draft Regulation on enhancing ship and port facility security.
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| Legal base | Article 80(2); co-decision; qualified majority voting
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| Document originated | 2 May 2003
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| Deposited in Parliament |
19 May 2003 |
| Department | Transport
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| Basis of consideration |
EM of 2 June 2003 |
| Previous Committee Report |
None |
| To be discussed in Council
| 5-6 June 2003 |
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information awaited
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The Commission's Communication
4.1 The Communication sets out the Commission's future
policy for maritime security. In it the Commission discusses
the perceived threats and international cooperation to meet them.
It notes Commission support for a number of security initiatives,
including:
- work in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on improving
the security of seafarers' documentation;
- work in the World Customs Organisation on a number
of issues, including security of the supply chain;
- work within G8, which agreed in June 2002 that
security measures needed to be implemented internationally in
the maritime sector.
4.2 The Communication also notes:
- the Commission intention to
propose legislation later this year following agreement of an
ILO text on enhancing the security of seafarers' identification;
- the possibility, in the absence of an international
text, of the Commission proposing later this year legislation
on the security of port areas;
- presentation of the Commission's Draft Regulation
on enhancing ship and port facility security.
The draft Regulation
4.3 In December 2002 the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) agreed a new international regime for maritime
and port facility security. The main purpose of the draft Regulation
is to ensure consistent and timely implementation across the EU
of the new IMO regime, so as to avoid trade distortion. The regime
introduces amendments to the Convention on the Safety of Life
at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 and a new International Ship and Port Facility
Security Code. It comes into force on 1 July 2004. The requirements
apply to passenger ships and to cargo ships over 500 gross tonnes
(including high-speed craft) engaged on international voyages,
to mobile offshore drilling units and to the port facilities serving
such ships when engaged on international voyages.
4.4 Additionally the draft Regulation would:
- extend the IMO requirements
to Class A passenger ships engaged on domestic voyages —
primarily those ships that travel more than 20 nautical miles
from the coast, and to the port facilities serving them;
- require all other passenger ships and cargo ships
of 500 gross tonnes and above operating domestic services, and
the port facilities serving them, to carry out security assessments,
prepare security plans and appoint company, ship and port facility
security officers;
- require Member States to implement certain measures
before the IMO deadline of 1 July 2004. This earlier implementation
would also apply to the domestic ships and port facilities proposed
to be within the scope of the Regulation;
- provide an inspection role for the Commission,
supported by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
4.5 The UK is a signatory to the new IMO
regime and therefore is already required to implement its requirements
by the IMO deadline.
The Government's view
4.6 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State, Department of Transport (Mr David Jamieson) tells us the
Government supports enhancement of maritime transport security.
It endorses the principle of the proposed Regulation, but has
some reservations about the draft. The Minister says:
"The Prime Minister, at the G8 Summit at
Kananaskis (Canada) last June, endorsed the maritime security
regime at that time being discussed in the IMO and committed the
UK to implementing the IMO security regime by 1 July 2004, which
date was subsequently agreed by all the States signatory to SOLAS.
"The Government attaches great importance to
transport security and shares the Commission's objective of enhancing
maritime and port security across the EU. The UK has had a maritime
security programme covering international passenger routes and
the ships serving them since 1990 and the EU Regulation will help
other European countries to put effective security regimes in
place. Therefore, we support the principle of an EU Regulation
that seeks to ensure consistent and timely implementation in the
Member States, thereby avoiding trade distortion.
"However, we are concerned that the IMO deadline
of 1 July 2004 is already ambitious for UK-flagged ships engaged
on international voyages and for the port facilities serving them
— there are some 600 ships on the UK register and an estimated
300-400 port facilities that will need to have security plans.
The Commission's proposal to bring forward some of the deadlines
and to extend the scope of application to domestic traffic therefore
poses practical problems. We consider that the priority should
be to meet the existing IMO deadline for international ships and
port facilities and that ships and port facilities handling domestic
services should be implemented to a later deadline.
"Provided that reaching agreement does not prejudice
the UK being able to meet the IMO deadline for international traffic,
we support the Regulation requiring application of the IMO security
regime to domestic ships and port facilities. This should ensure
that all ships operating in UK waters and calling at UK ports
have adequate security measures in place irrespective of the type
of traffic they are engaged in. In addition, this should ensure
that the overall risk of an attack on maritime interests is reduced,
not transferred from international to domestic ships and ports.
"The adoption of the Regulation may lead to
the EC acquiring exclusive competence in relation to the area
covered by the IMO security measures, which would prevent Member
States from concluding future international agreements which would
affect those measures. However, as the IMO measures are part
of SOLAS, which is amended by virtue of the tacit amendment procedure
rather than by the UK having to ratify a new agreement, we do
not consider this to be a significant problem in this case.
"Whilst we accept that the Commission should
have a right of inspection of national security plans to ensure
consistent application of the security requirements in all the
Member States, we could not support inspection of individual security
plans and thereby the specific security measures. An inspection
role for the Commission has already been agreed in the field of
civil aviation security and this could provide the basis for an
acceptable regime."
4.7 The Minister also tells us that his
department is presently consulting interested parties about the
draft Regulation and is preparing a full Regulatory Impact Assessment
on it.
Conclusion
4.8 We recognise the importance of rapidly
enhancing maritime transport security and note the Government's
endorsement of the general thrust of the proposed Regulation.
But we note also the Government's reservations on the actual
text and that it is consulting interested parties and preparing
a Regulatory Impact Assessment.
4.9 Before considering the document further
we would wish to hear from the Minister on progress on the matters
of concern to the Government in the negotiation of the draft Regulation,
on the outcome of the Department's consultations and on the Regulatory
Impact Assessment. Meanwhile we hold the document under scrutiny.
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