Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 May 2024
164. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport if he or his Department has been approached by the organisers of a group (details supplied) as regards offering the flotilla the Irish flag in order for them to sail lifesaving aid to Gaza; if so, to provide details of the engagement; and if he would consider allowing them to sail under the Irish flag. [21246/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy private office has not received any correspondence from the organisers of The Freedom Flotilla group.
As my cabinet colleague Minister Chambers recently advised Deputy Réada Cronin in Dáil Question No. 136 of the 8th of May 2024; The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) requires that every state shall effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its state flag.
In particular, each state shall maintain a register of its ships and assume jurisdiction over its internal law on-board ships flying its flag. In this regard, every state shall ensure the safety of the ship with regard to construction, equipment and seaworthiness, the manning of the ship, labour conditions and the training of its crews. Each state shall therefore survey every ship operating under its flag and at appropriate intervals thereafter to safeguard the ship’s safety and to ensure that it is complying with accepted international safety regulations, procedures and practices.
In Ireland, the registration of vessels is regulated under the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955 and the Merchant Shipping and Sea Pollution Acts 1894 to 2022. Nationality requirements apply to prospective registered owners, and this currently includes Irish, EU and UK citizens and bodies corporate. Applicants, being the owner of a vessel or their legal representative, must contact a Registrar of Shipping at their chosen port of registry in relation to satisfying the registration requirements and the application process also requires a tonnage measurement survey, which is carried out by the Department of Transport.
For an existing ship to operate under the Irish flag it must also be surveyed by the Department of Transport to ensure the safety of the vessel and the crew. These technical surveys include a full review of the ship including its previous operation under other flags and the outcomes of inspections under port state control regimes to determine the safety status of the ship. The ship will be surveyed for compliance with the relevant international maritime conventions, EU legislation and domestic Irish legislation.
The operation of a ship is regulated regarding its use, intended trading areas as well as matters related to compliance with the procedures of the conventions including requirements regarding maritime security. This includes setting the security levels on Irish flagged ships and directing ships in relation to their operations. Ships operating under the Irish flag are subject to compliance with a wider set of Irish legislation than maritime safety alone, including compliance with any other applicable Irish civil and criminal law.
Ireland maintains a comprehensive oversight of ships on the Irish flag to ensure that the highest safety standards are maintained, and Ireland is currently amongst the top performing flag states in the world in terms of vessel safety, as determined by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding Organization.
