EU Member States agree on ratifying Hong Kong Convention for the safe and sound recycling of ships

On 30 October 2013, the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER I) agreed on a compromise text for a Council decision supporting the ratification of the 2009 Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound recycling of ships. According to the Council Decision, Member States shall take the necessary...

European Parliament adopts proposal for new Ship Recycling Regulation

The European Parliament (EP) adopted today at its plenary sitting in Strasbourg a legislative resolution on a new Ship Recycling Regulation by a large majority of the votes. The adopted text is the result of a compromise agreement reached last June in Trilogue between the Council under the Irish Presidency...

European Commission earmarks 1.6 billion Euros to support key TEN-T infrastructure projects

On Wednesday 16 October, the European Commission announced that 1.6 billion Euros of EU co-funding will be granted to trans-Euroepan transport network (TEN-T) projects. In total, 172 projects were selected by the Commission and funding will be made available for 83 projects from the 2012 Annual programme call (€247.20 million)...

ECSA welcomes Member States' approval to further enhance the status of Regular Shipping Service

ECSA has been advised of and very much welcomes the fact that EU Member States have recently endorsed the Commission's proposal to grant further customs facilitations to shipping companies operating ships with the status of Regular Shipping Service. This decision was made in the context of the Blue Belt discussions, which...

ICAO agrees on global-market based mechanism to tackle emissions

On 04 October, Member States of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreed, at its 38th Assembly in Montreal, to develop a global market-based measure (MBM) for international aviation. 

ICAO’s States agreed to report back in 2016 with a proposal for a global MBM scheme capable of being implemented by...

EMSA October 2013 Newsletter

The EMSA October 2013 Newsletter is available here

ECSA welcomes the continuation of State Aid Guidelines to Maritime Transport.

Commission Vice-President Joaquín Almunia, responsible for competition policy, recently decided to continue the 2004 Guidelines on State Aid to Maritime Transport without revision.

ECSA President Juan Riva welcomed Commissioner Almunia's decision: "ECSA commends the Commission for pursuing a professional review and consultation process, which clearly demonstrated that the guidelines...

European Commission sets up dedicated forum to tackle upcoming sulphur requirements

On 25 September, the European Commission announced the creation of the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF) to assess the developments towards compliance with the IMO 0.1% sulphur content in marine fuel, which are due to enter into force as from 1st January  2015 in the SECAs (Sulphur Emission Control Areas)...

IMO moves to make container weighing mandatory

On 20th September, the IMO backed a compromise proposal for verifying the weight of containers before they are loaded on board ships. The amendment to existing regulation that was adopted will effectively make it mandatory for containers to be weighed so as to lessen the risk that unweighed and misdeclared...

EP Rapporteur on alternative fuels calls for sufficient number of LNG bunkering stations across Europe

On 16th September, Carlo Fidanza (EPP, Italy), the rapporteur on the proposal for a directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, which was adopted by the Commission in January 2013, presented his first draft to the parliamentary committee on transport (TRAN). The intention of the Commission is to target...