Maritime safety: roll-on/roll-off (Ro-ro) ferries and high speed passenger craft, conditions for the operation

At second reading under cooperation procedure, the European Parliament amended the Council common position on the proposal for a Council directive on a system of mandatory surveys for the safe operation of regular ro-ro ferry and high speed passenger craft services in the following areas: - specifying that exemption from compliance with some of the requirements with regard to voyage data recorders for a period of up to 5 years; - requiring the Commission to make information publicly available on the particulars of ro-ro ferries or high-speed passenger craft permitted to operate on domestic or international voyages or any operational limitations; - extending inspections of lifeboats and rescue boats to cover all life-saving appliances, to ensure that they are complete and in good order. The Parliament's rapporteur is Mark Francis Watts (PSE,UK).�