EUROPARLIAMENT ACCELERATES PROCEDURE FOR ERIKA 1 PACKAGE

The Transport Committee of the European parliament this morning (11 October 2001) unanimously adopted the report by its chairman Kostas HATZIDAKIS (EPP-ED, GR) on the Council's common position on a regulation on the accelerated phasing-in of double hull or equivalent design standards for single hull oil tankers.

This regulation is part of Erika I, a package of three maritime safety proposals presented by the Commission after the oil tanker Erika sank off the French coast in December 1999. Since Council had incorporated all Parliament's main amendments from first reading the rapporteur proposed that the common position be approved without amendment.

Under the common position, the withdrawal of single hull tankers will now be carried out on the basis of the ship's date of delivery, i.e. on completion of a certain numbers of full years of service, as proposed by Parliament.

The phasing-out schedule for Category 1 ships (more than 25 years old) provides for a final withdrawal date of 2007. The final withdrawal date for Category 2 ships - which meet the conditions of a special survey regime - is 2015.

The tonnage limit for Category 3 ships (those below 20.000 or 30.000 tons depending on circumstances) has been increased from the 3000 tons suggested by Parliament to 5000, while the final withdrawal deadline is 2015. As a counter-balance to the final deadline of 2015, Category 2 and 3 ships will be permitted to continue operating until 2017 or until they are 25 years old. All these points are acceptable to Parliament.

The committee decided to speed up the procedure (this vote was originally scheduled for 22 November) so that Parliament can hold the final plenary debate on the Erika I package in November.

The two other reports of the Erika I package, one on port state control and one on classification societies, are still in conciliation, but a final agreement between Parliament and Council is likely to be reached during the October II plenary session in Strasbourg.