Visits to Member States on marine equipment
The visits conducted in respect of Directive 96/98/EC primarily concerned Member States’ monitoring of the notified bodies authorised by them.
The cycle of visits to the Member States in relation to Directive 96/98/EC of 20 December 1996 on marine equipment, as amended, started in 2010. EMSA conducted visits to the 12 Member States which had accredited at least one Notified Body. This cycle was completed in late 2014. A new cycle, concerning the implementation of Directive 2014/90/EU started in 2017 and is expected to finish in 2024.
Article 1 of Directive 2014/90/EU states:
The objective of this Directive is to enhance safety at sea and to prevent marine pollution through the uniform application of the relevant international instruments relating to marine equipment to be placed on board EU ships, and to ensure the free movement of such equipment within the Union.
The visits examine in particular the following:
- The way in which the Directive has been transposed and implemented in operational terms.
- The provisions of the Member State for ensuring that the safety equipment for which the Member State or its authorised organisations issues safety certificates, comply with the requirements of the Directive, and with the relevant testing standards and the conformity-assessment procedures referred to in Annex II of the Directive.
- The provisions in place in the Member State for ensuring that a new ship on the registers of the Member State is inspected for compliance with the Directive.
- The provisions in place in the Member State for considering and approving equipment to be equivalent pursuant to the Directive for being placed on board ships.
- The provisions in place in the Member State for authorising Notified Bodies to act on behalf of the Member State including the system for monitoring, control and all enforcement activities.
- The level, extent and system of market surveillance conducted by the Member State.
- The system by which the Member State has or could have had any safety equipment withdrawn or prohibited from entering the market.
- The system by which the Member State has or could have had safety equipment of technical innovation or testing permitted for on board use although not complying with the conformity assessment.
- The system by which the Member State has or could have had safety equipment temporarily replaced on board a ship.