Port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships
The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted the report by Gesine MEISSNER (ALDE, DE) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships, repealing Directive 2000/59/EC and amending Directive 2009/16/EC and Directive 2010/65/EU.
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, exercising its prerogative as an associated committee in accordance with Article 54 of the Rules of Procedure, also gave its opinion on the report.
The committee recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission's proposal as follows.
Scope: Members propose including in the scope of the Directive waste from ship repair activities and ballast water management according to the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention entered into force on September 2017.
Definitions: Members called for a more generic definition of ‘waste from ships’, in relation to the relevant Annexes to MARPOL, including cargo residues, which is generated during the service of a ship or of a fixed or floating platform, or during loading, unloading, cleaning and ship repair operations, including sediments from cleaning or repair of ballast tanks.
Green ship: Members clarify the ‘green ship’ concept to mean a ship designed, operated and ultimately recycled in an environmentally sustainable way. In general, Members stressed the need for awareness-raising activities and positive incentives in the field of producing less waste on board.
Small ports: Members expressed concern about the situation in small ports, risking to face considerable difficulties, because of limited resources available in terms of personnel, structure, organisation etc. In order not to impose a disproportionate administrative burden, very small ports should be exempted from putting up a waste management plan and issuing waste receipts.
Delivery of waste from ships: the amended text stated that the discharge of plastics, including synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage and incinerator ashes from plastic products, shall be prohibited, except in certain circumstances laid down in the Directive.
The master of a fishing vessel calling at a Union port shall report within 24 hours to the competent authority of its flag Member State any losses of fishing gear.
If it cannot be established that adequate facilities are available in the next port of call, or the next port of call is unknown, the Member State shall require the ship to deliver, before departure, all waste that cannot be adequately received and treated at the next port of call.
The master of a ship calling at a Union port shall, before leaving the port, apply prewash procedures for high-viscosity, persistent floating substances, including paraffin, in accordance with Annex II to the MARPOL Convention and discharge any residues or water mixtures at the port of unloading until the tank is empty and discharge pipes are free from residues.
Lost fishing gear: the master of ship calling at a port in a Member State engaged in fishing operations shall ensure that all reasonable precautions are taken to prevent the loss of fishing gear. If the lost fishing gear cannot be recovered, the ship’s captain shall enter information about it in the logbook. The competent authority of the flag Member State shall inform the competent authority of the coastal Member State. Information on the lost fishing gear shall be collected and recorded by the Member States and transmitted annually to the Commission.
Fishing-for-litter initiatives and beach clean-ups: Members States are called on to establish and maintain a national fund to support activities and projects for the collection of passively fished waste from fishing vessels and waste found on coastlines in the vicinity of ports and along shipping routes.
Training of personnel: port and port reception facilities authorities shall ensure that all personnel receive the necessary training to acquire the knowledge which is essential for their work on dealing with waste, with specific attention to health and safety aspects pertaining to dealing with hazardous materials, and that training requirements are regularly updated to meet the challenges of technological innovation.
Reporting and evaluation: the amended report stipulated that Members States shall, no later than 12 months after the date of adoption of this Directive and every two years thereafter, report to the Commission on their best practices regarding sustainable waste management on board ships and in their ports. Six months after each reporting deadline, the Commission shall prepare a report on these best practices to provide guidance for progressing towards the objectives of this Directive.
The Commission shall also evaluate whether the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) should be granted additional competences for the enforcement of this Directive.