Waterborne transport
Waterborne transport covers maritime transport and inland navigation. The European Union encourages growth in maritime transport through a number of actions such as the modernisation of infrastructures or the harmonisation of equipment and procedures. Improving maritime safety and protecting the marine environment are also priorities.
The considerable potential of river transport has largely yet to be tapped. It offers the advantage of reducing the amount of traffic on roads. The EU is committed to breathing new life into the sector, particularly through the Naïades Action Programme.
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OBJECTIVES AND BODIES
- European maritime transport policy until 2018
- Action plan for an integrated maritime policy
- Programme for the promotion of short sea shipping
- Maritime safety: European Maritime Safety Agency
- Towards a European maritime transport space without barriers
- Rights of passengers travelling by sea and inland waterway
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INTERNAL MARKET
- Freedom to supply services, competition, unfair pricing practices and free access to ocean trade
- Freedom to provide maritime transport services
- The insurance of shipowners for maritime claims
- Freedom to provide services within the Member States (ocean trade)
- Reporting formalities for ships
- State aid to shipbuilding (I)
- Maritime safety: registration of persons on board passenger ships
- Transfer of cargo and passenger ships between registers within the EU
- Statistical returns for carriage of goods and passengers by sea
- PORT INFRASTRUCTURE
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EMPLOYMENT AND WORKING CONDITIONS
- Strengthening of maritime labour standards
- Organisation of seafarers' working time
- Organisation of hours of work on board ships using Community ports
- Inland waterways: access to the occupation of carrier of goods by waterway and mutual recognition of diplomas
- Seafarer training and recruitment
- Maritime safety: Minimum level of training of seafarers
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MARITIME SAFETY
- Maritime safety: port State control
- Maritime safety: Loading and unloading of bulk carriers
- Maritime safety: Committee on Safe Seas
- Maritime safety: International Safety Management (ISM) Code
- Maritime safety: Erika I package
- Maritime safety: accelerated phasing-in of double-hull oil tankers
- Maritime safety: organisations responsible for monitoring and inspecting vessels (recast)
- Ship inspection and survey organisations: legal framework
- Maritime safety: Erika II
- Compliance with flag State requirements
- Maritime safety: Community monitoring, control and information system for maritime traffic
- Maritime safety: tonnage measurement of ballast spaces in segregated ballast oil tankers
- Safety rules and standards for passenger ships
- Maritime safety: system of mandatory surveys for regular ro-ro ferry and high-speed passenger craft services
- Liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents
- Maritime safety: marine equipment
- Satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
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MARITIME TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
- A strategy for better ship dismantling practices
- Strategy to reduce atmospheric emissions from seagoing ships
- Maritime safety: prohibition of organotin compounds on ships
- Maritime safety: prevention of pollution from ships
- Ship-source pollution and criminal penalties
- Maritime safety: Bunkers Convention
- Maritime safety: compensation fund for oil pollution damage
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NAVIGATION OF INLAND WATERWAYS
- Promotion of inland waterway transport “NAIADES”
- Inland navigation: structural improvements
- Inland navigation: Community-fleet capacity policy
- Inland navigation: reciprocal recognition of national boatmasters' certificates for inland waterway navigation
- Inland navigation: non-resident carriers
- Inland navigation: harmonisation of conditions for obtaining national boatmasters' certificates
- Inland navigation: transport of goods or passengers by inland waterway between Member States
- Inland navigation: conditions attached to chartering and pricing
- Inland waterways: River information services
- Technical requirements for inland waterway vessels
- Inland transport of dangerous goods
- MARITIME SECURITY