MEPs support demand for black boxes on EU ferries

Date: 11/03/1999

By Renée Cordes

MEPS are pressing EU governments to toughen up safety requirements for ferries crossing Union waters.

Members of the European Parliament's transport committee have endorsed a report drawn up by British Labour MEP Mark Watts which calls for all ferries on European routes to be fitted with new, state-of-the art black boxes within five years.

The committee is also calling on European Commission officials to provide the Parliament with information about ferry operators with poor track records.

The MEPs' demands come nine months after Union governments gave their support to proposals drawn up by Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock to lay down licensing requirements for roll-on, roll-off ferries, with only minor changes.

Under the proposal, designed to prevent accidents such as the 1994 Estonia disaster in which 900 people died, all such ships would have to be equipped with electronic black boxes (already commonly used in aeroplanes) to monitor and record their course, speed and position.

Shipowners and operators who had already installed black boxes voluntarily would not necessarily have to upgrade them. “In principle, we are fully in favour of black boxes,” said an aide to Kinnock. “But we have to take into account to what extent some industry players have already introduced them.”

While most modern vessels have navigational equipment such as speed and route recorders, the equipment tends to be damaged and information lost if the ship sinks.

Black boxes, on the other hand, are designed to remain intact even after sinking, making it easier for investigators to establish the cause of an accident by listening to recordings of orders given on the bridge and radio messages to and from the ferry.

European shipowners fear the requirements would be an extra burden without necessarily improving safety. But Jeanne Breen, of the European Transport Safety Council (ESTC), said: “We want to see black boxes on all ferries as soon as possible.”