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

This proposal for a regulation concerns the safety management of ro-ro passenger vessels and makes the provisions of the ISM Code mandatory on ro-ro passenger vessels on regular routes to and from Community ports (the International Management Code for the safe operation of ships and for pollution prevention (ISM Code) is an international code which merely recommends a number of prescriptions to the signatory states). As soon as this regulation enters into force (viz. on 1 July 1996), shipping companies will have to adopt these provisions on board all their ro-ro ferries. The Member States, for their part: - must issue a permit to operate ships from their ports and guarantee that companies comply with these requirements; - must monitor ships sailing under their flag and companies established on their territory, - must recognise documents of compliance issued by another Member State in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition of certification documents issued by any Member State of the Community, - must ensure that ships operated by companies established outside the Community comply with the safety standards set out in the regulation, either on the basis of documents issued by the country in question or on the basis of any other form of proof, - may, if they consider that a company operating a regular service from its ports represents a safety risk (even though a valid document of compliance has been recognised), suspend operation until the risks have been eliminated. They must submit the case to the Commission, which will decide whether or not to suspend operation, with the assistance of an advisory committee. Compliance must be checked every year. If a Member State delegates its powers or relies upon another body for this purpose, it can only do so through a recognised organisation which complies with the quality requirements laid down in Directive 94/57/EEC on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations. The Commission may amend the provisions of the ISM Code in order to bring them into line with developments in international organisations and may also amend the definition of approved organisations responsible for monitoring ships.�