Tag: EU

Cyprus, Estonia and Portugal have so far failed to confirm measures The European Commission is threatening to take seven European Union member states to the European Court of Justice if they fail to implement legislation to comply with the new port state control inspection regime that came into effect at the beginning of this year.The commission says Cyprus, Estonia and Portugal have so far failed to confirm measures they are taking to enforce the new directive, despite being required to do so by the end of last year. In addition, it says Belgium, France, Poland and the UK have only partially implemented the measures in legislation.

EU has already imposed a travel ban and wide-ranging asset freeze The European Union said on Tuesday they had agreed to add six Libyan ports to the list of assets frozen in sanctions imposed on Muammar Gaddafi's government."The council of the European Union adopted a decision yesterday extending the assets freeze to six Libyan port authorities, in view of the gravity of the situation in the country," said a statement from the European Council, which represents all EU governments.The statement did not give any details of what form the sanctions would take, but EU officials say they will make it illegal for European-operated ships to do business with the port authorities.A one-month window has been left for existing contracts, one official said.The EU has already imposed a travel ban and wide-ranging asset freeze.An EU diplomat said last month that EU experts had agreed to put six ports -- Tripoli, Zuara, Zawiyah, Al-Khoms, Ras Lanuf and Brega -- on the sanctions list.Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's government has been seeking to raise fuel imports by using a loophole in international sanctions after a campaign of Western air strikes against Libya.Civil war has crippled the refining industry and Gaddafi urgently needs fuel imports ...

Clean air at sea promoting solutions for sustainable and competitive shipping 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EL X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The European Commission (EC) released the speech delivered by Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Environment regarding improving air quality.He reiterated the importance of transposing the into EU law as quickly as possible so as to provide a strong enforcement mechanismMaritime Stakeholder event "Clean air at sea promoting solutions for sustainable and competitive shipping"Brussels, 1st June 2011I'd like to thank you for the possibility of joining you today to discuss a subject that is high on my agenda and yours also. Since you will be hearing more on the forthcoming revision of the Sulphur Directive later, I want to use my time to get you up to speed on where we are with the EU's air policy, and on my programme for a comprehensive review by 2013.I want to remind you too that while reducing emissions from maritime shipping is of key importance, it is only one element in the wider air quality picture.Air quality policy in the EU has largely been a success story. Since the Nineties, we have reduced emissions from almost all relevant pollutants.Sulphur dioxide is down ...

All of the shippers are under investigation The EU Commission said it suspects that Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp. and several other shippers have been engaged in cartel activities in violation of EU antitrust regulations.The commission said it launched an investigation into the matter on May 17 with a raid on the offices of the shippers since it had collected sufficient evidence pointing to their wrongdoing.However, the commission declined to disclose any further details of the probe or the alleged cartel activities, saying the investigation was still in progress.Apart from Evergreen Marine, the other shippers being investigated are Singapore-based Naptune Orient Lines, Hong Kong's Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, Denmark's Maersk Line, CMA CGM of France and Hapag-Lloyd of Germany.All of the shippers, including Evergreen Marine, have confirmed that they are under investigation by the EU Commission.The commission said it will respect the right of the shippers to defend themselves and has no presumptions on the results of the probe.It also said it has no timetable for wrapping up the investigation, as this will depend on several factors such as the complexity of the case and whether or not the shippers will cooperate with the investigators.The commission's records ...

Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom The European Commission yesterday asked Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom to adopt national legislation to implement the new port state control regime to comply with European Union law.The Commission's request takes the form of a reasoned opinion under EU infringement procedures. If these Member States fail to inform the Commission within two months of the measures they have taken to ensure full compliance with EU law, the Commission could refer the case to the EU Court of Justice.The EU rulesFollowing the "Erika" and "Prestige" accidents off the European coasts, EU legislation on port state control was adopted in 2009 under the third maritime safety package.This directive reinforces as of 1 January 2011, Member States' obligations to inspect vessels calling at their ports. The new law requires more frequent inspections on ships posing a higher risk and extends the ban on substandard ships.The reason for actionCyprus, Estonia, and Portugal have failed to notify the Commission of the measures taken to enforce the new directive on port state control although required to do so by 31 December 2010. Belgium, France, Poland and the United Kingdom have notified ...

Maersk Line could face a $1bn fine European Commission investigators have begun riffling through documents at AP Moller-Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg Sud and Neptune Orient Lines after marching in to their offices this morning.It is not immediately clear what sparked the dramatic action, which is capturing headlines around Europe today.Early reports in Denmark suggest Maersk Line could face a $1bn fine, but the company and the Commission have both pointed out there is no evidence to suggest wrongdoing at this time.In a statement the Commission says it has "reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated the antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position".It is not immediately known whether any documents have been taken away from the liner giants today but sources say it would be standard practice to do so.Maersk says it is cooperating with the investigation and had stressed its innocence.Its legal chief Christian Kledal said in a statement: "Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step in European Commission investigations into suspected infringements of competition rules. However, the fact that the Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the company has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour ...

Restrictive measures against Syria The European Union (EU) issued a press release stating that it has decided to impose restrictive measures, including an asset freeze, against Syria.To view the press release please click hereSource: European Union

European Union Regulations on Syria On 9 May 2011 the EU issued Council Decision 2011/273/CFSPand Council Regulation (EU) No. 442/2011introducingrestrictive measuresin the light of the situation in Syria.Thesanctions providefor an arms embargo, a ban on internal repression equipment and restrictions on the admission to the Union and the freezing of funds and economic resources of certain persons and entities.Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 provides a list of equipment which might be used for internal repression.Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 442/2011provides alist of natural and legal persons, entities or bodies subject to the sanctions. To view the Council Regulation (EU) No 422/2011 please click here Source: Journal of the European Union

Essential to include the shipping industry in the ETS Of all industries in the EU economy the transport sector is the only one to have steadily increased its Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions since the reference year of 1990.Transport comprises of three modes, inland (road, rail and waterways), sea and air. Emissions from inland transport (mainly road) are the most important followed by maritime while aviation comes third.The greatest share of CO2 reductions has been achieved by land based emissions sources such as industrial plants and road transport. Regarding the maritime sector, it has to be said that historically it has not been addressed properly, if at all, as compared to all other transport modes. Such a privileged lack of regulation implies that currently, the cost of reducing emissions from ships would be much lower than for same results from land-based polluters.The shipping industry claims that by improving marine fuel oil quality and by reducing the sulphur content, as agreed in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) under the MARPOL Convention, it will contribute to CO2 emissions reduction. This is incorrect and misleading.Improved marine fuel quality is totally unrelated to CO2 emissions. A better and cleaner fuel does not reduce CO2 emissions ...

Hopes to raise standards in accident investigation Investigating serious marine accidents and providing until now often confidential reports and data to a central body will become mandatory this year for all 27 European Union (EU) member states.The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) says it is ready to put into force the 2009 European Commission (EC) regulation requiring all member states to conduct investigations into maritime casualties and to submit their findings.A common investigation process is set to be adopted this year, which creates great hopes that standards in accident investigation will be raised.Source: Safety4Sea