EC COMMISSIONER CALLS ON INDUSTRY TO “RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN SHIPPING”

EC COMMISSIONER CALLS ON INDUSTRY TO “RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN SHIPPING”

EC COMMISSIONER CALLS ON INDUSTRY TO “RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN SHIPPING”

   Loyola de Palacio, vice president of the European Commission and commissioner for transport and energy, has called for the shipping industry to act to restore public confidence, following the oil spill of the “Prestige.”
   “Today’s attention is essentially focused on safety,” she told a meeting organized by the European Community Shipowners’ Associations in Brussels. The oil spill of the Prestige has been “a cruel reminder of the need for action,” she added.
   The “Prestige,” a single-hull tanker that sank off the Spanish coast in November, carried about 70,000 tons of oil.
   “All players in the maritime sector need to take their responsibilities in order to restore the safety on our seas and the confidence in the shipping industry,” de Palacio said.
   Following the “Prestige” accident, the European council of transport ministers agreed on a draft regulation to speed up the time the timetable for phasing out single-hull tankers and a ban on the transport of heavy fuel oil in single-hull tankers.
   However, de Palacio suggested that certain exemptions may be available for small single-hull tankers. “During the legislative process, we are ready to take into account, if well justified, elements in order not to affect trade and to guarantee security of supply,” she said.
   De Palacio said that the European Union should take “firm and decisive actions” on maritime safety to influence the discussions in the International Maritime Organization.
   The European Commission reiterated its view that to the international rules concerning the law of the seas should be reformed to grant more protection from marine pollution to coastal states.
   “I truly believe that the time has now come to challenge the fundamentals of international shipping law, adjusting them to the new geo-political environment and technological developments,” de Palacio said. “The European Union should become the protagonist of this change.”
   On a separate issue, de Palacio expressed concerns over “the U.S. unilateral measures such as the Container Security Initiative.”
   The EC has already said that individual European countries have no jurisdiction to enter into bilateral agreement with the U.S., arguing that this is a European Commission prerogative.
   “These measures will inevitably result in delays in the logistics chain and distortions of competition between European ports,” de Palacio told the meeting in Brussels. “This will end up being detrimental to the European shipping industry.”
   She said that the EC is committed to safeguarding the unity of its internal market and will avoid that measures taken by its trade partners jeopardize its economic interests.
   “This is why I am promoting together with (European) Commissioner Bolkestein a bilateral agreement between the EU and the U.S. on this issue,” she said.