Maritime safety: monitoring, control and information for traffic, package Erika II (repeal. Directive 93/75/EEC)

The committee unanimously adopted the report by Dirk STERCKX (ELDR, B) amending the Council's common position under the codecision procedure (2nd reading). The committee decided to retable, sometimes in modified form, amendments adopted by Parliament at 1st reading on compensation to ports and related insurance requirements and on bringing forward the dates for fitting transponders in line with decisions taken within the IMO. Moreover, although Council had taken on board some of Parliament's recommendations on procedures in the event of exceptionally bad weather, the committee modified the relevant article in the common position so as to specify that a Member State could restrict not only departure from but also entry to a port in bad weather. It also restated, in modified form, Parliament's demand that the master of a ship intending to enter or leave the port in question should be fully informed by the relevant authorities of the state of the sea and weather conditions and that, if he did not follow the recommendations of the authorities, he should be required to inform the latter of the reasons for his decision. In addition, the committee repeated Parliament's call for measures to be taken to limit or ban the bunkering of ships in bad weather conditions. On the question of ports of refuge, the committee wanted the plans which Member States were required to draw up to accommodate ships in distress to contain arrangements for assistance, salvage and pollution response. It also said that Member States should be obliged to inform the Commission within 18 months of the directive's entry into force of the measures they had taken to apply those provisions.�