Safety management of roll-on/roll-off (Ro-ro) passenger ferries

Mr SINDAL presented the report in place of Mr WATTS, the rapporteur, who had been detained. He stressed in particular that vessels should be checked every year, not every 30 months as the Council proposed. He also recommended that the operation of services be suspended if there was a risk of serious danger to safety of life or property, or the environment, even if the company held a valid document of compliance. Finally, he called for the reintroduction of an advisory committee to assist the Commission rather than a regulatory committee. Commissioner KINNOCK believed that the application of the International Safety Management Code would have a positive impact. However, he rejected the amendments tabled by the rapporteur. He agreed with the Council’s proposal that vessels should be checked every 30 months as this was in line with the provisions of the International Safety Management Code, and the Council had left open the possibility of reviewing the time frame for verifications.