Adoption of three proposals on passenger ship safety

Background and further information:

The proposals approved by EU ministers during a meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council comprise:

+ A 'general' directive on passenger ship safety rules and standards, applicable to vessels travelling on domestic routes and which sets out detailed technical requirements for ships with regard to areas such as construction, stability and fire protection;

+ A directive on the registration of persons on board passenger ships, requiring shipping companies to digitalise the registration of ship passengers for immediate availability of exact number of passengers and other information;

+ A directive revising inspection regime for ro-ro ferries and high-speed passenger craft, eliminating overlaps and closing regulatory gaps.

The three directives are part of a comprehensive review of passenger ship safety which aims to improve the safety of sea travel while simplifying the current rules and cutting administrative costs. They were put forward by the European Commission in June 2016 and the compromise texts were subject to informal interinstitutional agreement in June 2017. The European Parliament's plenary session endorsed them in October 2017.

The Council of the European Union formally endorsed on 23 October three legislative proposals EU passenger ship safety.

EPRS: Briefing, September 2017: Proposals on passenger ship safety http://www.europeansources.info/record/safety-rules-and-standards-for-passenger-ships-registration-of-persons-on-board-passenger-ships-inspections-of-ro-ro-ferries-and-high-speed-passenger-craft/

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