The aim of this proposal was to supplement the mechanism established by Directive 93/75/EEC concerning minimum requirements for vessels bound for or leaving Community ports and carrying dangerous or polluting goods by creating a European vessel-reporting system, to be known as Eurorep. This system would have two components: a general reporting system applicable to vessels carrying dangerous or polluting goods and a reporting system specific to the services responsible for controlling and tracking maritime traffic, to be known as the vessel traffic services (VTS), which would apply to certain ships.
The Eurorep system was to be established in two stages:
- In the initial stage, the system would not be compulsory except in cases where current international law prescribed otherwise, i.e. for vessels which were bound for or leaving a Community port or which operated under the flag of a Member State.
The VTS system would be applicable within the territorial waters of the Member States and outside the straits used for international navigation.
- In the second stage, beginning with the entry into force of new provisions of the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (the SOLAS Convention) concerning the equipping of vessels with radio communication facilities or with the entry into force of the proposed directive, whichever occurred first, the Eurorep system would be made compulsory for all vessels carrying dangerous or polluting goods. Moreover, the VTS system would be made applicable to all vessels with a tonnage in excess of 300 grt.
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