Legal provisions of COM(1998)662-5 - Enforcement of seafarers' hours of work on board ships using Community ports

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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

dossier COM(1998)662-5 - Enforcement of seafarers' hours of work on board ships using Community ports.
document COM(1998)662 EN
date December 13, 1999


Contents

Article 1 - Purpose and scope

1. The purpose of this Directive is to provide a mechanism for the verification and enforcement of compliance by ships calling at ports of Member States with Directive 1999/63/EC in order to improve maritime safety, working conditions and the health and safety of seafarers on board ships.

2. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that ships which are not registered in their territory or not flying their flag comply with clauses 1 to 12 of the Agreement annexed to Directive 1999/63/EC.

Article 2 - Definitions For the purposes of this Directive,

(a) 'ship' means any seagoing vessel, whether publicly or privately owned, which is ordinarily engaged in commercial maritime operations. Fishing vessels are not included in this definition,

(b) 'competent authority' means the authorities designated by the Member States to perform functions under this Directive,

(c) 'inspector' means a public-sector employee or other person, duly authorised by the competent authority of a Member State to inspect the working conditions on board, and responsible to that competent authority,

(d) 'complaint' means any information or report submitted by a member of the crew, a professional body, an association, a trade union or, generally, any person with an interest in the safety of the ship, including an interest in safety or health hazards to its crew.

Article 3 - Preparation of reports

Without prejudice to Article 1 (2), if a Member State in whose port a ship calls voluntarily in the normal course of its business or for operational reasons receives a complaint which it does not consider manifestly unfounded or obtains evidence that the ship does not conform to the standards referred to in Directive 1999/63/EC, it shall prepare a report addressed to the government of the country in which the ship is registered and, when an inspection carried out pursuant to Article 4 provides relevant evidence, the Member State shall take the measures necessary to ensure that any conditions on board which are clearly hazardous to the safety or the health of the crew are rectified.

The identity of the person lodging the report or the complaint must not be revealed to the master or the owner of the ship concerned.

Article 4 - Inspection and more detailed inspection

1. When carrying out an inspection, in order to obtain evidence that a ship does not conform to the requirements of Directive 1999/63/EC, the inspector shall determine whether:

- a table with the shipboard working arrangements has been established in the working language or languages of the ship and in English according to the model format reproduced in Annex I, or in an alternative equivalent format, and is posted on board in an easily accessible place;

- seafarers' records of hours of work or hours of rest have been established in the working language or languages of the ship and in English according to the model format reproduced in Annex II, or in an alternative equivalent format, and are kept on board and there is proof that the records have been endorsed by the competent authority of the State where the ship is registered.

2. If a complaint has been received or the inspector from his own observations on board believes that the seafarers may be unduly fatigued, the inspector shall conduct a more detailed inspection, pursuant to paragraph 1, to determine whether the working hours or rest periods recorded conform to the standards laid down in Directive 1999/63/EC and that they have been duly observed, taking into account other records relating to the operation of the ship.

Article 5 - The rectification of deficiencies

1. If the inspection or the more detailed inspection reveals that the ship does not conform to the requirements of Directive 1999/63/EC, the Member State shall take the measures necessary to ensure that any conditions on board which are clearly hazardous to the safety or health of seafarers are rectified. Such measures may include a prohibition on leaving the port until deficiencies have been rectified or the seafarers have been sufficiently rested.

2. If there is clear evidence that watchkeeping personnel for the first watch or subsequent relieving watches are unduly fatigued, the Member State shall ensure that the ship shall not leave port until the deficiencies found have been rectified or the seafarers in question have been sufficiently rested.

Article 6 - Follow-up procedures

1. In the event that a ship is prohibited from leaving the port pursuant to Article 5, the competent authority of the Member State shall inform the master, the owner or operator, the administration of the flag State or the State where the ship is registered or the Consul, or in his absence the nearest diplomatic representative of the State, of the results of the inspections referred to in Article 4, of any decisions taken by the inspector and of corrective actions required, if necessary.

2. When carrying out an inspection under this Directive, all possible efforts should be made to avoid a ship being unduly delayed. If a ship is unduly delayed, the owner or operator shall be entitled to compensation for any loss or damage suffered. In any instance of alleged undue delay, the burden of proof shall lie with the owner or operator of the ship.

Article 7 - Right of appeal

1. The owner or the operator of the ship or his representative in the Member State shall have a right of appeal against a detention decision taken by the competent authority. An appeal shall not cause the detention to be suspended.

2. Member States shall establish and maintain appropriate procedures for this purpose in accordance with their national legislation.

3. The competent authority shall properly inform the master of a ship referred to in paragraph 1 of the right of appeal.

Article 8 - Administrative cooperation

1. Member States shall take the necessary steps to provide, in conditions compatible with those laid down in Article 14 of Directive 95/21/EC of 19 June 1995 concerning the enforcement, in respect of shipping using Community ports and sailing in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States, of international standards for ship safety, pollution prevention and shipboard living and working conditions (port State control)(5), for cooperation between their relevant authorities and the relevant competent authorities of other Member States to ensure the effective application of this Directive and shall notify the Commission of the provision made.

2. Information on the measures taken pursuant to Articles 4 and 5 shall be published in accordance with procedures such as those set out in the first paragraph of Article 15 of Directive 95/21/EC.

Article 9 - "No more favourable" treatment clause

When inspecting a ship registered in the territory of or flying the flag of a State which has not signed ILO Convention No 180 or the Protocol to ILO Convention No 147, Member States shall, once the Convention and the Protocol are in force, ensure that the treatment given to such ships and their crew is no more favourable than that given to a ship flying the flag of a State which is a party to either ILO Convention No 180 or the Protocol to ILO Convention No 147 or both of them.

Article 10 - Final provisions

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than 30 June 2002.

2. When Member States adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

3. Member States shall immediately notify to the Commission all provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive. The Commission shall inform the other Member States thereof.

Article 11 - Ships from non-Member States

This Directive shall apply to ships not registered in the territory of, or not flying the flag of, a Member State only on the date of entry into force of ILO Convention No 180 and the date of entry into force of the Protocol to ILO Convention No 147.

Article 12 - Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 13 - Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.