Visits to Member States relating to Vessel Traffic Monitoring & Information Systems

The cycle of visits to the Member States in relation to Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system, as amended by Directive 2009/17/EC, was initiated in 2009 and completed in 2012.

Further visits were conducted between 2012 and 2015 in relation to Directive 2009/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 2002/59/EC. The additional visits focused in particular on the accommodation of ships in need of assistance and the systems developed for interconnection with SafeSeaNet (SSN). These visits were completed in 2016.

Article 1 of the Directive states:

The purpose of this Directive is to establish in the Community a vessel traffic monitoring and information system with a view to enhancing the safety and efficiency of maritime traffic, improving the response of authorities to incidents, accidents or potentially dangerous situations at sea, including search and rescue operations, and contributing to a better prevention and detection of pollution by ships.

The objective of the visits was to view and document the system in place in the Member State used for their vessel traffic and information system.

The visits examined in particular the following:

    1. The way in which the Directive had been transposed and implemented in operational terms.
    2. The national provisions for ensuring that the scope and all of the definitions were the same as stated in the Directive.
    3. The national provisions for ensuring that notifications on arrival and the carriage of dangerous and/or polluting goods were sent, received, handled, forwarded, registered etc. as laid out in the Directive.
    4. The national provisions for ensuring that the monitoring of maritime traffic was conducted including MRS, TSS, AIS, LRIT etc.
    5. The national provisions for ensuring that the infrastructure as required by the Directive was in place, operated, and maintained.
    6. The national provisions for ensuring that exemptions as defined by the Directive were handled, monitored and controlled.
    7. The national provisions for ensuring that the transmission of information on certain ships etc. was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Directive.
    8. The national provisions for ensuring that measures with regard to exceptionally bad weather were implemented and operated as per the Directive.
    9. The national provisions implementing rules relating to places of refuge and handling of ships in need of assistance.
    10. The national provisions for enforcement and sanctions with regard to the articles of the Directive.

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