6 Maritime safety: accident investigation
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6436/06
+ ADD1
COM(05) 590
| Draft Directive establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector and amending Directives 1999/35/EC and 2002/59/EC
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| Legal base | Article 80(2) EC; co-decision; QMV
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| Document originated | 23 November 2005
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| Deposited in Parliament | 22 February 2006
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| Department | Transport |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 14 March 2006
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Not known
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information awaited.
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Background
6.1 Council Directive 1999/35/EC requires Member States to conduct
an investigation into any marine accident or incident involving
a roll on-roll off ferry or high-speed passenger craft. Directive
2002/59/EC requires Member States to adhere to the recommendations
set out in the International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Code
for the Investigation of Marine Accidents. Regulation (EC) No
1406/2002 tasks the European Maritime Safety Agency to facilitate
development of a common methodology for investigating maritime
accidents and to support Member States in investigating accidents
and in analysing accident reports.
The document
6.2 The Commission propose this draft Directive to establish Community
guidelines on the handling of marine accident investigations.
In justifying the proposal the Commission:
- observes that, while some Member States (which include the
UK) carry out accident investigations in a thorough and systematic
way, others investigate accidents in a superficial and non-systematic
manner;
- considers that the lack of mandatory guidelines
on accident investigation is a serious shortcoming in terms of
Community maritime safety policy, contrasting strikingly with
the situation in air transport; and
- points out that, while the IMO has adopted a
Code for the Investigation of Marine Accidents, it is not mandatory
and some flag states choose not to abide by the Code.
6.3 The draft Directive is based on the content of
the IMO Code, making compliance with that Code mandatory. But
the Commission proposes going further, so as to ensure at least
the same level of feedback on the outcome of maritime accident
investigation as is given by Community legislation covering aircraft
accidents. The intention is that:
- knowledge gained and lessons
learnt from accident investigations are pooled to the benefit
of Community maritime safety policy; and
- a clear distinction is drawn between an accident
investigation — to establish the cause of accidents and
to draw safety lessons — and any judicial proceedings, which
might seek to apportion blame and so delay or otherwise hinder
an accident investigation.
6.4 This proposal is part of what the Commission
refers to as the "Third Maritime Safety Package". This
comprises seven discrete measures which are being taken forward
separately, rather than as a package, by the Council. The draft
Directive does not feature on the Austrian Presidency's agenda
(only two of the measures do). It is not yet known whether the
Finnish Presidency will begin consideration of the proposal. If
it does not it seems possible that the German Presidency would
do so, in the first half of 2007.[15]
The Government's view
6.5 The Minister of State, Department of Transport
(Dr Stephen Ladyman) says that the quality of marine accident
investigation across the Community is very variable and that the
Government supports the proposal to ensure that all Member States
be required to conduct accident investigations in accordance with
the IMO Code for the Investigation of Marine Accidents and that
the findings of accident investigations be given wide circulation
for the common good. The Minister tells us that, while much of
the proposed Directive draws on the IMO Code and is directly derived
from existing UK regulations governing marine accident investigation
(the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) having a high
international reputation), the Government will be seeking amendment
of the detail of the draft to ensure that:
- accident investigation authorities
are not prevented from using their judgement in terms of which
accidents to investigate;
- new administrative burdens of little or no value
in the promotion of safety at sea are avoided; and
- Community law does not depart from the IMO Code
in relation to the rights of coastal states to conduct parallel
investigations — for instance preventing the MAIB from conducting
an investigation in parallel with a foreign authority of an accident
involving that authority's flagged tanker and a major pollution
incident affecting the UK waters and/or coastline.
6.6 The Minister says that subject to scrutiny of
the detail of the proposal it should have no financial implications
for the UK. He adds that the UK maritime industry has yet to be
consulted about the proposal but is likely to be supportive, so
long as the standing of the MAIB is not undermined.
Conclusion
6.7 Ensuring a high standard of marine accident
investigation and the wide dissemination of the lessons to be
drawn is clearly to be welcomed. We recognise that it is likely
to be some time before this proposal is taken forward. But in
due course we should like to hear from the Government, both about
the views of the UK maritime industry, once it has been consulted,
and about developments on the amendments to the proposal the Government
thinks necessary, before we consider the draft Directive further.
6.8 Meanwhile we do not clear the document.
15 See also para 17. Back
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