Activites

• 1998/07/02 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 1998/41
  • OJ L 188 02.07.1998, p. 0035
• #2108
• 1998/06/18 Council Meeting
• 1998/06/18 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1998/06/18 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 1998/03/11 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T4-0133/1998 summary

    In adopting the recommendation for second reading by Mr Mark WATTS (PSE, UK), Parliament called for the Directive on the registration of persons sailing on board passenger ships to apply to all under-sea rail tunnels, including those involving car shuttle journeys by rail in excess of 20 miles (thus applying to the Channel Tunnel). It called for information on passengers to be recorded for all vessels departing from Community ports if the normal journey time was estimated to be at least 2 hours or if the distance between the two ports was at least 20 miles. This information should be communicated to shore before departure and not up to 30 minutes after departure, as initially proposed by the Commission.�

• 1998/03/10 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    Recalling the full horror of the Estonia tragedy in 1994, the rapporteur insisted that the Commission’s proposal should be improved through Parliament’s amendments. As a result, he called for the directive to be applied to all undersea railway tunnels, including those for the transport of vehicles by rail over distances in excess of 20 miles (such as the Channel Tunnel). He pointed out in this respect that, during the Channel Tunnel fire in 1996, the rescue efforts of the fire services had been hampered by the lack of precise information about the number of passengers travelling on board the train. Finally, Mr Watts drew the Commissioner’s attention to a recent study in the Which magazine which contained a worrying list of safety alerts on ferries throughout the Community, particularly in the Mediterranean. Commissioner Kinnock indicated that the Commission would continue its efforts to ensure that passenger safety on board ferries was as high as possible. The Commissioner rejected Amendments Nos 1, 2 and 3 which did not take into account the progress made in terms of safety. He also rejected Amendments Nos 6 and 8 which were superfluous given Articles 8 and 9 of the common position on the transmission of information. Finally, Mr Kinnock rejected Amendments Nos 4, 5 and 7 which aimed to extend the registration of passengers to undersea railway tunnels as, in his opinion, with regard to the Channel Tunnel for example, it was more appropriate for Channel Tunnel safety to be governed by the bilateral regulations agreed between the United Kingdom and France than by Community action.

• 1998/02/25 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
  • A4-0068/1998
• 1997/12/18 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• 1997/12/11 Council position published
  • 10066/1/1997 summary

    The Council adopted a common position on a text containing the substance of two amendments proposed by the European Parliament and a certain number of additional provisions. The common position applies to all seagoing passenger ships and high speed craft which carry more than 12 passengers and which depart from a port located in a Member State or undertake a journey from a third country to a Community port. It requires all persons on board to be counted prior to departure. However, passengers on board ships crossing the Strait of Messina may be counted under a simplified system subject to review. Moreover, if the ship undertakes voyages of more than 20 miles, the names, the sex, the age and the possible wishes for special care in emergency situations of all persons on board shall be recorded as well. Member States may nevertheless lower the 20-miles threshold. They may also exempt ships sailing exclusively in protected sea areas from the obligation to record passengers or request the Commission for an authorization to derogate from this obligation for regular services of not more than about 30 miles or for regular services to isolated communities in areas with low average wave heights where adequate navigational guidance, weather forecasts and search and rescue facilities are available. Before departure, the number of persons on board shall be communicated to the master and to the company's registrar or to a shore-based system that performs the same functions. The master shall also receive, before departure, information about possible wishes for special care in case of an emergency. However, Member States may exempt passenger ships operating regular services of less than one hour in protected sea areas from the obligation to communicate the number of persons on board to the passenger registrar. Before the ship sets sail, the Master shall ensure that the number of persons on board does not exceed the number the ship is permitted to carry. Within 30 minutes after departure, the passengers' personal data will be transmitted to the registrar. The number of passengers and the personal data so collected shall be at all times readily available for transmission to the designated authority for search and rescue purposes. The counting system must be in place by 1.1.1999. The system of registration of passengers must be applied no later than 1.1.2000. �

• #2059
• 1997/12/10 Council Meeting
• 1997/07/23 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1997)0340 summary

    The Commission's amended proposal took account of the European Parliament's amendments aimed at introducing more flexibility in the directive as long as it did not present any obstacles to the registration of persons sailing on board passenger ships operating in areas characterised by dense traffic and weather and sailing conditions that were often hostile. To achieve this increased flexibility, the Commission made provision for exemptions and derogations which it would grant itself with the support of the advisory committee. As a result, it proposed replacing the definition of 'sheltered waters' with a definition of 'protected sea area', also adding the definition of 'regular service'. Moreover, the Commission agreed to include a reference to the exact age of passengers in addition to the requirement to indicate the age category, whilst retaining the possibility of providing first names or initials (rather than first names alone). The Commission could not accept the amendments aimed at: - inserting new recitals; - including a definition of 'seagoing passenger ship'; - ensuring that, in general, the master of the ship informed the company of the number of passengers on board and, for trips exceeding 20 miles, the passengers' personal details. �

• #2016
• 1997/06/17 Council Meeting
• 1997/05/29 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The rapporteur stressed the need to impose on shipping companies the obligation to register every passenger. The benefits of such a measure in terms of improving safety far outweighed all the administrative arguments against this. Among the key amendments tabled, Mr Watts highlighted the one which provided for immediate information on passengers, namely on the ship’s departure and not an hour later (the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster occurred 22 minutes after sailing). Finally, according to the rapporteur, the directive in question should apply to both the Channel Tunnel and all journeys in excess of two hours. Commissioner Kinnock said that he could accept Amendments Nos 8, first part, 9 and 12 which recommended increased flexibility in order to cope with specific situations. However, he was against Amendments Nos 5, 7 and 10 which attempted to impose a registration system on motor cars using railway shuttles as this fell outside the scope of this maritime directive. For similar reasons relating to the directive’s aim, the Commission could not accept Amendments Nos 1 to 4 or Amendments Nos 6 and 11.

  • T4-0271/1997 summary

    In adopting the report by Mr Mark Watts (PES; UK), the European Parliament amended the proposal for a directive on the registration of persons sailing on board of passenger ships. His amendments call for: - the directive to apply also to all 'under sea' rail tunnels involving car shuttle journeys in excess of twenty miles; - the passenger's age to be included in the information recorded in the passenger list; - passenger information to be recorded where the normal journey time is estimated to be at least two hours or if the distance between the two ports is at least 20 miles:. - this information, together with the number of persons on board prior to departure, to be communicated to the person designated by the company; - where the ship's normal journey time is estimated to be less than two hours or the distance is less than 20 miles, the number of persons on board to be communicated to the person designated by the company. Parliament also stressed that safety standards for the design and building of Ro-Ro passenger vessels, including watertight bulkheads and sponsons, are urgently required and must be included among future measures to improve safety at sea. �

• 1997/04/14 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0152/1997
• 1997/01/29 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1996/11/25 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1996)0574 summary

    OBJECTIVE: the introduction of common and harmonized procedures on the registration of persons sailing on board of passenger ships. SUBSTANCE: the proposal for a Council Directive provides for the establishment of a harmonized system intended to ensure that no passenger ship sailing to or from a Community port is carrying more than the number of passengers authorized by the relevant safety certificates and to gather information about the passengers on board in order to facilitate search and rescue operations after an accident. In practical terms there is provision that the total number of persons on board a passenger ship departing from a port inside the Community must be counted prior to departure and the number must be communicated to the master of the ship, a designated person on shore and, if applicable to the competent authority. This provision shall apply to all passenger ships, whatever the type of voyage. With regard to the collection of additional information on passengers for search and rescue operations, this obligation shall apply to all passenger ships operating out of and into a port in a Member State and undertaking voyages of more than 20 nautical miles between two ports. Under certain conditions the Member States may decide to reduce the limit of 20 nautical miles. The proposal also provides for derogations for very short voyages. �

• 1996/09/26 Additional information

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1996)0574
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0152/1997
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0271/1997
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1997)0340
• Council position published: 10066/1/1997
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A4-0068/1998
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T4-0133/1998
• : Directive 1998/41
• : OJ L 188 02.07.1998, p. 0035

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)