Dangerous ships blacklisted by EU
A proposed blacklist of “very dangerous” substandard ships was published today by the European Commission.
Brussels said the 66 vessels would be banned by now if EU governments had acted more quickly to introduce the latest EU maritime safety measures.
Tighter controls are due in force next July, but in the wake of the Prestige tanker accident, the Commission wants more done and sooner, not least by EU leaders when they meet for a summit in Copenhagen next week.
EU transport commissioner Loyola de Palacio said she wanted them to consider proposals to ban “once and for all” the carrying of heavy fuel oil in single-hull oil tankers.
“Words are not enough: it is necessary to act and apply the maritime safety measures in full,” she said in Brussels.
“Safety is the responsibility of everyone, and strict application of all the measures is the only way of ensuring that substandard ships do not fall through the safety net.”
The 66 ships on the “indicative” blacklist have all been detained several times in European ports for failing to comply with maritime safety rules – and many more might have been identified if EU governments boosted their rate of spot checks.
Under current EU rules, at least 25% of such ships entering European ports must be inspected, but the Commission’s latest port state control figures show that some countries barely manage the minimum – and France checked fewer than 10%.
Ireland checked 21% of vessels entering Irish ports – up on less than 15% in 2000.
The UK vetted nearly 28%, but the most monitoring was carried out by Italy, which checked 43% of vessels last year.
The Commissioner commented: “The member states can no longer afford not to recruit an adequate number of inspectors to check at least 25% of ships, as required by the rules.”
She said she also wants early agreement on banning single-hulled vessels, as heavy fuel oil is often carried in the oldest and most unsafe ships.
Of the 66 ships on the “indicative” blacklist, 26 fly under the Turkish flag, 12 are flagged from St Vincent and the Grenadines and nine from Cambodia.
There are three each from Algeria, Panama and Sao Tome and Principe, two each from Bolivia, Egypt and Romania, and one each from Honduras, Lebanon, Morocco and Syria.
Most – 49 – are bulk carriers, eight are chemical tankers, eight are oil tankers and one – the Gabrielle from Bolivia – is a passenger ferry described as “very high risk“.
A Commission report to EU governments today emphasises that a lot of progress has been made since the Erika disaster three years ago, but EU governments must act together.
Ms de Palacio added: “We also need to thoroughly amend the international rules, in particular in terms of criminal and financial liability.
“However, only by speaking with one voice within the International Maritime Organisation can we have a bigger say“.
League table of national port checks on visiting vessels, 2001:
Italy – 43.54% (5,850 visiting ships: 2,547 inspections)
Iceland – 35.29% ( 323: 114)
Finland – 32.49% (1,311: 421)
Spain – 30.28% (5,594:1,694)
Belgium – 29.00% (5,789:1,679)
Portugal – 28.45% (2,830: 805)
Greece – 28.13% (2,670: 751)
UK – 27.89% (6.457:1,801)
Norway – 25.78% (1,800: 464)
Denmark – 25.50% (2,400: 612)
Netherlands – 23.47% (5,645:1,325)
Sweden – 23.09% (2,850: 658)
Germany – 21.78% (6,745:1,469)
Ireland – 21.05% (1,330: 280)
France – 9.63% (5,792: 558)
