Fact Sheets on the European Union
European Parliament
Please fill this field

Maritime transport: Traffic and safety rules

EU directives and regulations have, over the years, greatly improved safety standards in sea transport. The majority of these improvements were brought about by the three legislative packages adopted in the wake of the Erika and Prestige oil tanker disasters.

Legal basis and objectives

The legal basis for the EU’s maritime traffic and safety rules is the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular Articles 91(1), point (c) and Article 100(2). Safety at sea is a key element of maritime transport policy with a view to protecting passengers, crew members, the marine environment and coastal regions. Given the global nature of maritime transport, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) develops uniform international standards. The primary international agreements include the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). While prompt amendment of EU law to incorporate these international law-based agreements is a major objective of the EU’s maritime transport policy, additional measures are also adopted at EU level.

Achievements

A. Training and qualifications

In 1994, the EU adopted a directive which gave the 1978 STCW Convention the full force of EU law. The convention underwent significant revisions, entailing corresponding revisions to the EU directive, the most recent version of which was adopted in the 2022 directive on the minimum level of training for seafarers (Directive (EU) 2022/993). It outlines the rules on training and competency standards for seafarer certification, as well as regulated specialist training. The directive also deals with Member States’ requirements for seafarer training, communication between crew members and the verification of crew members’ certificates (port State control).

The 2017 directive on the recognition of professional qualifications in inland navigation (EU) 2017/2397) provided for the gradual extension of professional qualification requirements beyond the level of boatmaster to cover all crew in inland navigation in the EU. This directive, which repealed earlier legislation, lays down the obligation for deck crew members and persons in charge of emergency procedures to hold certificates of qualification. Boat masters sailing in hazardous circumstances should be specifically authorised to do so and should be required to demonstrate additional competences. The 2017 directive was amended by Directive (EU) 2021/1233, which introduced measures for the recognition of crew-member certificates issued by authorities of non-EU countries.

B. Marine equipment

The 1996 directive on marine equipment (Council Directive 96/98/EC) aimed to ensure the uniform application of the SOLAS Convention to equipment for commercial vessels, making the IMO resolutions deriving from it mandatory. This was amended by Directive 2012/32/EU, which replaced Annex A to adapt it to take account of the most recent amendments to international conventions and applicable testing standards. Both directives were repealed by Directive 2014/90/EU, which strengthened the implementation of the relevant rules and the monitoring of their observance.

C. Security on ships and in port facilities

The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code was adopted at an IMO conference in 2002, together with amendments to other international agreements. The aim of the code is to ensure better protection of ships and port facilities. The 2004 regulation on enhancing ship and port facility security (Regulation (EC) No 725/2004) was intended to ensure that decisions adopted by the IMO were interpreted and implemented uniformly. The EU’s maritime security strategy was launched on 24 June 2014 with the adoption of a Council decision approving it as a political and strategic measure for effectively addressing maritime security challenges using all relevant international, EU and national instruments.

D. Passenger ship safety and ship inspection

The common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations (classification societies) were laid down in Directive 94/57/EC, which was adopted in 1994. Safety on ships providing scheduled services between two EU ports is regulated by the directive on safety rules and standards for passenger ships (Directive 2009/45/EC), which consolidated and recast the safety rules and standards for passenger ships established by an earlier directive. The directive on the registration of persons sailing on board passenger ships operating to or from ports of the Member States of the Community, adopted in 1998, made it possible for passenger numbers to be monitored and for rescue operations to be mounted more efficiently in the event of an accident. The rules on minimum qualifications for seafarers were updated in 2019 with the adoption of Directive (EU) 2019/1159.

In 2017, three directives were adopted.

The directive laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels (Directive (EU) 2016/1629 of 14 September 2016), which amended and repealed previous legislation, sets out the rules for inland navigation.

The Council decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the EU within the European Committee for drawing up standards in the field of inland navigation (CESNI) and within the Central Commission for Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) on the adoption of standards concerning technical requirements for inland waterway vessels (Council decision (EU) 2020/1508) was adopted on 12 October 2020. Directive 2003/25/EC lays out specific stability requirements for roll-on/roll-off passenger ships. It was amended by Directive (EU) 2023/946.

E. Digital maritime systems and services

The use of digital information systems improves the efficiency, attractiveness and environmental sustainability of maritime transport and contributes to the integration of the sector into the digital multimodal logistic chain. The directive on harmonised river information services (Directive 2005/44/EC) sets a framework for digital information services to aid traffic and transport management in the EU inland waterway transport industry. In January 2024, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive amending Directive 2005/44/EC. In March 2025, Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted its report on this proposal and took the decision to open interinstitutional negotiations on it. A provisional agreement was reached on 26 June 2025, which was confirmed at Parliament’s first reading concluded on 7 October 2025. The Council adopted the agreed text on 27 October 2025. The revised directive will be signed in November 2025 and subsequently published.

In 2010, Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2010/65/EU on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Member States. 

In 2018, the Commission published a proposal for a regulation establishing a European Maritime Single Window (EMSW) environment and repealing Directive 2010/65/EU. The EMSW includes harmonised rules for providing information required for port calls. Following adoption by Parliament and the Council, Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 was published in the Official Journal on 25 July 2019. The Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/204 in October 2022 to standardise and define the features of the EMSW to ensure a harmonised reporting environment for users in all Member States. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/205 amends the list of reporting obligations required by legislation regarding port calls and, moreover, establishes a data set for the EMSW; it was further amended in 2025 by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/674.

F. Developments since the Erika and Prestige disasters

EU safety standards for maritime transport were strengthened considerably following the wrecks, in 1999 and 2002, of the oil tankers Erika and Prestige, and the environmentally disastrous consequences of both.

1. Erika I package

Directive 2001/105/EC strengthened and standardised the legal provisions laid down in Directive 94/57/EC on ship inspection and survey organisations (see previous section). In particular, it introduced a system of liability in the event of proven negligence. Directive 2001/106/EC made port State control mandatory for potentially hazardous vessels and introduced a ‘blacklist’ of ships that can be refused access to EU ports.

Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 set a fixed timetable for withdrawing single-hull oil tankers from service and replacing them with safer double-hull vessels. Following the Prestige oil tanker disaster, a more rigorous timetable was adopted in Regulation (EC) No 1726/2003. Regulation (EU) No 530/2012 on the accelerated phasing-in of double-hull or equivalent design requirements for single-hull oil tankers subsequently repealed Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 and countered certain potential exemptions under IMO rules. It specified that, for the transport of heavy grade oil, only double-hull oil tankers would be allowed to fly the flag of a Member State, and it banned all single-hull oil tankers, irrespective of the flag, from ports or offshore terminals or from anchoring in areas under the jurisdiction of the Member States.

2. Erika II package

Directive 2002/59/EC established a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (SafeSeaNet). Before a ship is allowed to enter a port in a Member State, its owners are responsible for providing certain information to the relevant port authorities, particularly in the case of dangerous or polluting cargoes. The directive also made it mandatory for ships to be equipped with automatic identification systems and voyage data recorders or ‘black boxes’. In addition, the authorities of the relevant Member States have the right to prohibit ships from leaving a port in unfavourable weather conditions. Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 established a European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) whose role is to provide Member States and the Commission with scientific and technical support, and to ensure that safety rules in maritime transport are enforced. Its remit has considerably expanded over time to incorporate pollution control (operational assistance at the request of Member States) and satellite-based monitoring systems. Regulation (EU) No 100/2013 amended the EMSA Regulation, clarifying EMSA’s core and ancillary tasks, as well as detailing the role it should play in facilitating cooperation between the Member States and the Commission.

On 1 June 2023, the Commission adopted five legislative proposals to modernise EU rules on maritime safety and prevent water pollution from ships. One of these is the proposal for a regulation on the European Maritime Safety Agency, which would repeal the EMSA Regulation. This proposal aims to update the agency mandate to better reflect its growing role in many maritime transport areas, including safety, pollution prevention and environmental protection, climate action, security, surveillance and crisis management, and digitalisation. Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted its report on the proposal in December 2023, and Parliament adopted its first-reading position in plenary in March of the following year. In June 2024, the Council adopted its general approach. On 7 October 2024, the Committee on Transport and Tourism voted to enter into interinstitutional negotiations. A provisional agreement was reached between Council and Parliament on 20 May 2025. Following the adoption by Council of its position at first reading on 13 October 2025, Parliament is expected to adopt its position at second reading in Plenary in November 2025. The text adopted by both co-legislators will then be published by early December 2025, so that it can enter into force by the end of 2025.

3. The third maritime safety package and port State control

Following intense negotiations, Parliament and the Council reached agreement in December 2008 on a third legislative package comprising two regulations and six directives:

  • An amendment of the directive on port State control (Directive 2009/16/EC) to ensure more frequent and more effective inspections under new monitoring mechanisms linked to potential risk, thereby bringing the procedures, instruments and work done in accordance with the Paris Memorandum of Understanding within the field of application of EU law. On 1 June 2023, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive amending Directive 2009/16/EC, which is part of a package to modernise EU rules on maritime safety and aims to update and align EU legislation with international rules and procedures, whether set by the IMO, the International Labour Organization or the Paris Memorandum of Understanding. It also proposes updates to the way ships are targeted for inspection and attaches more importance to the environmental-related performance and deficiencies of ships in determining their risk profile. The scope of the directive is also amended, so that fishing vessels of above 24 metres in length can be inspected under port State control by Member States that wish to carry out these inspections. In December 2023, the Committee on transport and tourism adopted its report and its negotiation mandate. Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on 27 February 2024. The final act (Directive (EU) 2024/3099) was adopted by Parliament and the Council on 27 November 2024.
  • A directive on compliance with flag State requirements (Directive 2009/21/EC), which enabled compliance on the part of ships flying a Member State flag to be monitored more effectively. On 1 June 2023, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive amending Directive 2009/21/EC, to update some references to IMO instruments in the existing definitions and include further definitions relevant for the directive, introduce the use of the database for verification of the condition of the ship before the ship is allowed to operate, lay down responsibilities and common capacity building for the flag State personnel, require Member States as flag States to use the EU’s maritime information exchange system (SafeSeaNet) to control and monitor ships under their flag, and clarify the scope and coverage of the Quality Management System for flag States. In December 2023, Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted its report on the proposal and its negotiation mandate. Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on 27 February 2024. Parliament negotiators managed to commit the flag States to check their ships at least once every five years, and not solely focus their inspections on safety. The final act (Directive (EU) 2024/3100) was adopted by Parliament and the Council on 27 November 2024.
  • A directive establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (Directive 2009/17/EC) aimed to improve the legal framework conditions concerning places of refuge for ships in distress and to further develop SafeSeaNet.
  • Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 and Directive 2009/15/EC, which established common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations, and aimed to create an independent quality-monitoring system to eliminate the remaining flaws in inspection and certification procedures for the world fleet.
  • A directive establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in maritime transport (Directive 2009/18/EC), which set out the standard principles for investigations at sea of marine casualties and incidents involving vessels flying the flag of an EU Member State and occurring in the territorial sea or internal waters of a Member State. This directive also established a system for pooling findings, known as the ‘permanent cooperation framework’, between EMSA, the Commission and the Member States. On 1 June 2023, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive amending Directive 2009/18/EC that provides for national accident investigation bodies to receive further support from EMSA. In December 2023, Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted its report and its negotiation mandate. Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on 13 February 2024. The final act (Directive (EU) 2024/3017) was adopted by Parliament and the Council on 27 November 2024.
  • Regulation (EC) No 392/2009 on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents (based on the 1974 Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea as amended by the 2002 protocol thereto).
  • A directive on the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims (Directive 2009/20/EC ), which set out the requirements for port State control in respect of shipowners’ certificates of insurance against maritime claims (subject to limitation under the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims as amended by the 1996 protocol thereto).

Role of the European Parliament

Parliament has been supportive of maritime safety initiatives and has worked towards bringing about progress in this area. The two ‘Erika’ maritime safety packages received the support of Parliament, which contributed to their swift adoption and secured improvements to the original proposals. Parliament also called for a European coastguard service, for piloting in environmentally sensitive and difficult areas, and for clear emergency decision-making and leadership in the Member States (particularly in relation to the mandatory allocation of a place of refuge or emergency port).

As part of the review of the Directive on the Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (SafeSeaNet), Parliament ensured that Member States are required to designate an appropriate authority to take decisions on how shipwrecks can be prevented and which port should accommodate a ship in need of assistance.

Parliament has thus been the driving force behind the significant improvements made to maritime safety, from the first through to the third maritime safety package (particularly via the work of its temporary MARE Committee in 2004).

In its position of 6 July 2016 on the EMSA Regulation, Parliament called for the agency’s activities to be expanded. It specifically noted that its traffic monitoring systems could contribute to a barrier-free European maritime space, which would enable goods and passengers to be transported between Member States by sea with no more formalities than for road transport.

 

Ariane Debyser