Maritime safety, pollution: international standards for ships using community ports

The common position established by the Council largely corresponds to the Commission proposal. The proposal for a directive changes the reference dates in terms of Directive 95/21/EC to take account of the amendments to the Paris memorandum of understanding on port state control (entered into force on 14 January 1998). In addition a new provision has been inserted seeking to: - ensure that vessels unable to present 'a document of compliance' or 'safety management certificate' issued in accordance with the ISM Code are detained; - enable Member States to lift such a detention order provided that no other deficiencies warranting attention have been found and that this measure is necessary in order to avoid port congestion; - ensure that vessels which have been allowed to leave the port under these conditions are in principle refused access to all Community ports until they are able to prove compliance with the ISM Code. Finally, the common position sets out more precisely the scope of the committee procedure in the event of any future amendments to international conventions and the memorandum of understanding. �