Transport Commissioner: EU Must Focus on Passenger Ship Safety
At a major passenger ship safety conference today in Brussels, hosted by the European Commission, EU Transport Commissioner and EC Vice President Siim Kallas set out the Commission's priorities for passenger ship safety.
"Tragic accidents, from the Titanic, to the Estonia or the Costa Concordia, put ship safety in the spotlight. There are always lessons to learn from such disasters. But we are not just waiting for the next accident to happen. It would be foolhardy merely to respond after the event. The EU has the toughest ship safety rules in the world and this is the result of a process of continuous improvements, proactive and preventative measures to raise maritime safety standards," Kallas said in a keynote speech.
He proposed a three-pronged approach to enhancing passenger ship safety, based on promoting industry voluntary measures, intensifying enforcement and implementation as well as regulatory measures.
Today the European Cruise Council also announced further voluntary commitments going beyond what is legally required in terms of issues such as route planning, security of bridge access and access to lifejackets on board.
The European Cruise Council commitments include the appointment of four independent experts to monitor progress in the field and implementation of these commitments.
The EC has also initiated, in cooperation with the European Maritime Agency, inspection visits to monitor the implementation of maritime legislation. In 2012 it will be targeting registration of passengers on board as part of a broader program of enforcement actions.
The 12-week public consultation on passenger ship safety will end on 5 July 2012. This will be followed by a workshop for stakeholders to present input received. On the basis of this consultation, as well as the two years of technical work, the Commission will present its first legislative proposals before the end of 2012.
Erkki Sivonen