Bid to harmonise boat legislation

Date: 22/06/2000

By Renée Cordes

THE European Commission is set to propose new legislation to limit emissions and noise from speedboats, jet skis and other recreational marine craft.

The plan, drawn up by Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, would expand the scope of a directive introduced in 1994 to include sound and exhaust emissions restrictions on a wide range of pleasure boats.

The new standards would be legally binding and boat manufacturers would have to comply with them by 1 January 2006 at the latest, although standards for some kinds of engine would have to be introduced earlier.

The impetus behind the move to set EU-wide sound and emissions standards came from the industry itself, amid concern that an increasing number of member states would impose their own tough national rules. Boat manufacturers feared this would result in a patchwork of laws, forcing them to make vessels which met a wide variety of technical specifications.

"We felt that we must have harmonisation or otherwise there would be mayhem in Europe," said Tim Donkin, secretary-general of the UK-based International Council on Marine Industry Associations.

If Liikanen's proposal is accepted by member states and MEPs, as expected, governments which already have tougher measures in place will be allowed to keep them.

The European Commission is set to propose new legislation to limit emissions and noise from speed-boats, jet skis and other recreational marine craft.