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SAFETY COUNCIL
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Due to the increasing formalisation and strengthening of international ship safety regimes, mainly triggered by the changes in the United Nations Convention of the Sea, it was necessary to care for the „Traditional Ships Fleet“ in times of European harmonisation tendencies of safety rules for shipping and to take proper precautions against politics, which might have inappropriate results, e.g., the equalisation of sail training ships or museum steam boats with SOLAS vessels. The EMH-Safety Council has energetically initiated and supported a political process, which safeguards the future operation of Traditional Ships in a time of modern international safety laws and Port State Control
Together with 10 European Maritime Administrations and supported by EU-DG 7 a „Memorandum Of Understanding“ (MoU) and a common minimum standard were elaborated during 1999 and 2000 in several meetings and conferences The MoU was signed on Sept 8th 2000 in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, by 7 governments (Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, U.K., The Netherlands and Spain). The document makes sure that these governments shall mutually accept their national certificates for Traditional Ships and their crews, e.g. during acts of Port State Control. France, Belgium and Poland, who also participated the preparatory conferences, did not sign the MoU in Wilhelmshaven due to administrative / legislative procedures in their national law, but are interested in principle. The MoU is an open process, other European countries are invited to join the agreement. A regular annual meeting of the signatory states, in which EMH has an observing and advising status, collects the experiences and develops the agreement further. The first follow-up meeting was held in Feb.2001 in Rotterdam, the second was in June 2002 in Palma de Mallorca In a parallel EU-Project „Quality Shipping and Operation of Traditional Ships in European Waters – Development of a Common European Approach and Code of Best Practice“, which was partly sponsored by EU-DG 7 and the governments of Germany and Denmark, the EMH-Safety Council has developed guidelines, which can also be used in countries with no special legislation for operating traditional ships. Large parts of the project results have been incorporated into the „Wilhelmhaven-MoU All efforts undertaken by EMH have followed these prime objectives:
EMH proudly states after nearly four years of hard work in the Safety Council, that these objectives are largely attainable. |
| (see for members of the Safety Council of EMH) |
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