Press Release: The Commission warns France and Ireland about inadequate maritime safety inspections

The European Commission sent reasoned opinions to France and Ireland on 20 September 2001 for failure to comply with the Port State Control Directive which obliges Member States to inspect at least 25% of the ships entering their ports each year. Tighter controls over ships entering European ports are one of the measures of the Erika I package approved by the Commission following the Erika oil tanker disaster in French territorial waters which polluted over 400 kilometres of the coast of Brittany.