Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – Report on liability and compensation for financial damages sustained by places of refuge when accommodating a ship in need of assistance

The Commission decided in 2005 to present a modification to the legal framework on reception of ships in need of assistance to places of refuge as initially set up by Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system and repealing Directive 93/75/EEC. The Commission proposed the introduction of an obligation to receive ships in need of assistance if, following an assessment, this appears to be the best course of action with a view to protecting human safety and the environment.

Having regard to specific concerns about the costs ports would have to assume when providing refuge to vessels in need of assistance, Article 20d in the amended text of Directive 2002/59/EC requires the Commission to examine existing compensation mechanisms in Member States for potential economic losses suffered by places of refuge when accommodating a ship, and to report on the results of this exercise to the European Parliament and the Council.

Prior to its amendment in 2009, Directive 2002/59/EC established an obligation for the Commission to report on the implementation by Member States of appropriate plans for places of refuge. The Commission had asked the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to produce relevant information also on the mechanisms of liability and compensation applicable in case of reception of a ship in a place of refuge.

The data collected by EMSA formed the basis for the Commission's report in 2005 and provided additional input during the inter-institutional discussions for the third maritime safety package, in particular for Directive 2009/17/EC. Following the adoption of the latter, the Commission has received additional, up-to-date, information from EMSA, focusing mainly on the applicable international instruments and the reinforced EU law framework pertaining to liability and compensation for damages to places of refuge. More to the point, the Commission designated an external consultant to undertake a study on the liability and compensation mechanisms available under national law in EU Member States.

It is on the basis of this input received by the Commission that the need for an additional mechanism of liability and compensation for the damages suffered by a place of refuge following reception of a vessel in need of assistance is assessed in this report.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)715: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:715:FIN

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