It also requires Member States to have a quality management system to certify its port State control administration organisation, policies, processes, resources and documentation. This is something that is already required for the flag State part of the Member States’ maritime administrations and it should allow the administrations to keep pace with the increasing complexity and requirements of port State control inspections.


What changes are proposed to the Directive on maritime


transport accident investigation and why?


Directive 2009/18/EC establishes the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector. It integrates the principles of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, as well as the relevant International Maritime Organisation code, into EU law.


The Directive is being revised to align EU law with changes in international law, to take account of technological change, and to incorporate accident types currently absent from the Directive for example accidents involving port workers which take place on board ships in port. These changes are designed to ensure and improve on the EU’s current high level of maritime safety and pollution protection.


The proposal partially extends the scope of the Directive to bring certain types of accidents involving smaller fishing vessels (less than 15 metres in the length) within the competence of Member States’ accident investigation bodies. These accidents are the most serious, involving death of a crew member or the loss of a vessel.


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Member States will also be provided with more clarity on the circumstances in which acci- dents should be investigated


// 84 | ISSUE 106 | DEC 2023 | THE REPORT


The revised directive will allow for greater EMSA operational support to accident investigation bodies, upon their request. EMSA will also be able to provide support in the form of training to improve Member State capacity to conduct (and report on) accident investigations in a timely, expert and independent manner – including those involving renewable and low carbon fuels and technologies used on-board ships.


Member States will also be provided with more clarity on the circumstances in which accidents should be investigated. This will allow for a more harmonised approach across the EU. The proposal aligns the directive with the most up to date International Maritime Organization provisions and will also require that Member State’s accident investigation bodies have a certified quality management system in place, similar to what is already required for the flag State administration and is being proposed in the port State control revision.


What is the aim of the Directive on ship-source pollution?


Directive 2005/35/EC on ship- source pollution, focuses on the enforcement of agreed international standards under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which determines whether a discharge is authorised or illegal. The role of the Directive is to ensure that Member States set effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalties for illegal discharges. It also provides for collaboration on enforcement across the EU with the support of EMSA. The current directive brings some MARPOL international standards into EU law, namely those relating to oil and noxious liquid substances in bulk (MARPOL Annexes I and II).


The proposed revision sets out to update this important piece of environmental protection legislation. This legislation is designed to decrease pollution of the sea from maritime transport by dissuasive penalties and expanding the scope of the directive to cover more polluting substances discharged illegally into the sea including garbage and sewage (MARPOL Annexes I to VI).


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