Vol. 542 No. 1
9 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the extent to which he has satisfied himself regarding the observation of safety at sea including the safety of vessels and the provision of suitably qualified crew on all vessels operating on the high seas; if he proposes amendments to EU directives in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23455/01]
63 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has satisfied himself as to the adequacy of safety procedures on board all vessels operating to and from ports here or in Irish territorial waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23593/01]
64 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he proposes to improve the legislation pertaining to the operation of passenger or cargo vessels on the high seas with particular reference to port safety and the qualification of ship crews and general operational standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23594/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 63 and 64 together.
Safety standards for seagoing passenger and cargo vessels are developed and adopted at international level, principally from the Safety Conventions of the International Maritime Organisation – IMO – and from initiatives at European Union level. I am pleased to say that Ireland is at the forefront in promoting improved safety standards for international shipping. My Department participates in the relevant IMO and EU committees which develop new standards and legislation and continually update our maritime law to ensure that all the resulting EU directives and IMO safety conventions and resolutions are fully implemented.
The enforcement of all regulations is carried out by the marine survey office of my Department which inspects vessels to ensure that they are complying with the safety standards laid down. Irish registered vessels are inspected annually by my Department's surveyors and are also liable to inspections under the port state control system.
Under Irish and international law all vessels trading into and out of Irish ports are required to carry the appropriate certification to demonstrate compliance with the requisite international conventions applicable to ships of their size and type. All vessels are subject to surveys and inspections by their flag states and, under the European Union's port state control system, all vessels using Community ports are liable to inspections by any of the EU states they are visiting. The application of port state control ensures that at any given time a large number of ships operating within the Community area have undergone an inspection by an EU port state control authority.
My Department's surveyors assign priority to foreign registered vessels which have had adverse inspections elsewhere or which fall into certain targeted categories.
Additional Information
When any such vessels are found to be deficient, they are detained until the deficiencies are rectified. Last year my Department's surveyors inspected 194 foreign vessels under the port state control system. Of these, 21 vessels were detained for non-compliance with the requisite international marine safety conventions.
The international conventions covered by these inspections includes the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers – the STCW Convention – which relates to the certification standards applying to the crews of the vessels. All crew on board the vessels must have proper certification to ensure that they are suitably trained and can adequately and safely discharge the duties of the positions they hold.
In addition, passenger ferries undergo safety drills before entering service and perform these drills to the satisfaction of the attending surveyors. These drills consist of boat drills, fire drills and damage control, and are to ensure that crews are familiar with their ship and its equipment and know what to do in an emergency. If necessary, drills are repeated until they are performed satisfactorily for the attending surveyors. I have recently obtained Department of Finance sanction for the recruitment of additional staff to ensure that we will be in a position to enhance our survey and inspection capabilities.
Following the sinking of the Maltese registered oil tanker ERIKA off the French coast in December 1999, causing serious pollution damage, the European Commission produced a communication in March 2000 setting out a package of proposed measures to improve the safety of the seaborne oil trade. The measures include proposed amendments to the port state control direc tive to provide for better targeting of ships for inspection and to provide for refusal of access to Community ports of manifestly sub-standard ships. Other measures proposed as part of that package include stricter monitoring of classification societies to which member states delegate powers to inspect ships and the accelerated phasing out of single hull tankers. It is expected that all these legislative acts will be adopted before the end of the year.
A second package of measures proposed by the Commission comprising a directive establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system, a regulation establishing a European maritime safety agency, and a regulation on the establishment of a fund for the compensation for oil pollution damage in European waters is currently the subject of detailed examination by a Council working group.
I am fully supportive of the need for these enhanced protection measures for maritime safety and the marine environment and will ensure that they are speedily transposed into Irish law when they are adopted.
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I am pleased to note the stringency of the regulations in so far as they apply in this country. Is the Minister of State aware of the city of Cork ferry which passed the test as seaworthy and subsequently failed the test in a port in another jurisdiction? Can he inform the House as to the number of voyages undertaken by the vessel between being passed as seaworthy under Irish conditions and failing the test overseas? What action has he taken to ensure the relevant directive now under discussion in the EU is upgraded to a standard that will ensure there are no circumstances whereby there are major breaches of that nature?
I would not like to make light of the difficulties in which we found ourselves because it is very important to get this right. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Obviously we were all very concerned following the incident. We must be honest and admit this.
Since March this year this Greek owned vessel, now registered in Malta, and its crew have been subject to a number of detailed Port State Control inspections carried out by the Irish and British authorities, jointly and separately, in Cork and Swansea in accordance with the international regulations under which Port State Control inspections are carried out on all round ro-ro passenger vessels. Since entering service, six safety drills have been carried out on this vessel by surveyors of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources and several by UK surveyors. Passage from Cork to Swansea and back for routine operational inspection purposes has also taken place.
