EC Takes Italy to Court over Maritime Safety Violations
October 12, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
The European Commission (EC) announced on Oct. 8 it will lodge a case against Italy with the European Court of Justice for Italy's failure to adequately implement European Union (EU) legislation on port state control of shipping.
The EC decided to act against Italy for the incorrect implementation of an EU shipping directive whose provisions were strengthened in the wake of the Erika accident (Directive 95/21/EC of June 19, 1995 on port state control of shipping, as last amended by Directive 2002/84/EC; Directive 2009/16/EC operates a recast of Directive 95/21/EC, which will be repealed starting Jan. 1, 2011).
The applicable directive aims at reducing substandard shipping in European Community waters by promoting compliance with international and EU legislation on maritime safety, by establishing common criteria for control of ships by the port state and by harmonizing procedures on inspection and detention.
The EC's action was launched on the basis of findings by the European Maritime Safety Agency during an inspection visit in Italy. The visit was part of a monitoring program by the EC designed to assess how the directive is implemented in practice in each EU member state.
In the case of Italy, irregularities concern failure by Italian authorities to charge full re-inspection costs of detained ships to shipowners and operators or their representatives.
Source: European Commission (EC).