Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS)

PURPOSE : to improve the implementation of the pertinent Community legislation on maritime safety, protection of marine environment and shipboard living and working conditions. COMMUNITY MEASURE : Regulation 2099/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Committee on Safe Seas and the prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS) and amending the Regulations on maritime safety and the prevention of pollution from ships. CONTENT : the purpose of this Regulation is to improve the implementation of the Community legislation on maritime safety, the prevention of pollution from ships and shipboard living and working conditions by centralising the tasks of the committees set up under Community maritime legislation and replaced by this Regulation by establishing a single Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, to be known as COSS and by accelerating the update of, and facilitating subsequent amendments to, Community maritime legislation in the light of developments in the international instruments. In addition, a specific conformity checking procedure shall be set up to enable the Commission, after consulting COSS, to take whatever measures may be necessary to exclude the risk of amendments to the international instruments being incompatible with the aforesaid legislation or community policy on maritime safety, the prevention of pollution from ships and the protection of shipboard living and working conditions in force or with the objectives pursued in that legislation. Such a procedure shall also prevent international amendments from lowering the standard of maritime safety achieved within the Community. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 19 December 2002.�