Maritime safety: standards in respect of shipping using Community ports, package Erika I

The Conciliation Committee reached agreement, following an exchange of letters, on the outstanding issue, namely, the question of whether certain categories of vessels calling at Community ports should be required to carry voyage data recorders (VDRs or "black boxes") in accordance with a timetable laid down in the proposal. Council finally agreed to Parliament's demand that ships calling at EU ports should be detained if they were not equipped with a functioning black box. If this deficiency could not easily be remedied in the port of detention, the port authority could allow the ship to proceed to the nearest appropriate port to have the matter dealt with. It was agreed that the deadline for rectifying the lack of a VDR should be 30 days. The use of black boxes will become compulsory for: - passenger ships built on or after 1 July 2002; - ships other than passenger ships, of 3000 gross tonnage and upwards, built on or after 1 July 2002; - old cargo ships from 2007/2008 onwards. �