EU Ministers adopt balanced approach on MRV

On 13 December, the second formal Environment Council under the Lithuanian Presidency took place in Brussels. EU environment ministers discussed the draft Regulation on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of CO2 emissions from maritime transport.

Presenting the Commission’s proposal, Connie Hedegaard, Commissioner for Climate Action, recognized the specificities of the...

Member States water down Commission’s proposal on alternative fuels infrastructure

At the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTE) of 5 December 2013, Member States’ Transport Ministers agreed on a General Approach as regards the Commission’s Directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

The agreement reached is considerably less ambitious than the Commission’s proposal. Although EU Member States fully support...

ECSA holds lively debate on green profile of shipping

On 4 December, ECSA organised a panel debate on how the EU shipping industry can deal with the new environmental challenges. The event resulted in discussions that were as fruitful as they were lively.

The panel consisted of representatives from the side of the shipping industry, the European Commission, the...

ECSA elects Thomas Rehder as new President

Thomas Rehder has been elected as the new President of the European Community Shipowners' Associations, with Niels Smedegaard, President and CEO of DFDS, as Vice-president. Mr. Rehder thus replaces Juan Riva who had been at the helm of ECSA since June 2011.

Since 1987 Thomas Rehder is Managing Partner at Carsten Rehder (GmbH &...

Commission ban on Georgian seafarers lifted

The European Commission decided on 25 November 2013 to lift a three-year ban it had imposed on Georgian seafarers.This decision comes after the withdrawal of the STCW* recognition of Georgian seafarers’ certification in November 2010 following an inspection carried out by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in 2006. Among the...

TRAN Committee votes on LNG refueling points and shore side electricity

The Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament adopted yesterday (with 30 to 7 votes in favor) the report of Rapporteur Carlo Fidanza on the Commission’s proposal for a Directive on the Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

The adopted report foresees that Member States shall in close cooperation with...

Armed protection not a substitute for military presence

ECSA and ICS (the International Chamber of Shipping) have jointly produced an overview of the situation in Flag States worldwide with regard to the legal requirements for the use of Private Armed Guards. The table can be found here.

The use of private armed guards has increased in the...

Commission launches formal investigation probe into liner companies’ practices

The European Commission has opened formal antitrust proceedings against several container liner shipping companies in order to ascertain whether they have been engaging in concerted practices, which would be in breach of EU antitrust rules.

Following the abolition of the block exemptions for liner conferences in 2008, the European Commission conducted a...

European Union and IMO gear up for debate on CO2 emissions of shipping

In the coming months, the European Parliament is set to have a debate on the Commission’s proposal on establishing an EU system for monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) CO2 emissions from large ships calling at EU ports.

The proposal was published in June and requires owners of large ships (above...

TEN-T/Connecting Europe: MEPs give the green light

Today, during the European Parliament’s Plenary session in Strasbourg, MEPs endorsed a deal with Member States on the EU's new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a new funding instrument that aims to speed up the completion of key trans-European transport, energy and telecoms links.

The CEF will have a total budget...