Several Members of the
European Parliament are considering to table a compromise amendment on the
draft ship recycling Regulation in order to establish a funding mechanism that
would ensure the conscious recycling of ships.
The fund would be financed
through a tonnage-based levy, which port authorities should charge on all ships
calling at EU ports, irrespective of their flag. The ship recycling levy would
lead to an unwanted increase in port dues in EU ports of 25% on average. In
some ports the amendment would even lead to a doubling of the level of dues.
The initial proposal of
rapporteur Carl Schlyter (Greens EFA / Sweden - photo) introduced a levy of
0.03 Euro per gross tonne (GT). An impact assessment of the proposal took into
account ESPO’s findings that port dues would significantly increase, but came
to the remarkable conclusion that there would be no risk of traffic evasion,
since port dues only constitute a minor part of the total cost of a ship’s
voyage. The impact assessment even recommended to increase the levy to 0.05
Euro, which the compromise amendment now indeed proposes.
“We urge MEPs to reconsider
this ill-conceived proposal”, said ESPO Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven,
“The risk of traffic evasion to non-EU ports is very real, especially in the
Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. The proposal may also
influence calling patterns and is set to provoke a further modal shift to less
energy-efficient modes of transport. Whilst we are all working very hard to
improve the competitiveness of EU ports and shipping, this measure will
significantly raise the cost of calling at EU ports. Furthermore, it will turn
port authorities into tax collectors and thus cause significant extra
administrative and technical burden for our members. Members of Parliament
should understand that these unwanted consequences for the maritime sector
clearly outweigh the benefits they may bring for conscious recycling of ships.”
The Rapporteur and the
Shadow Rapporteurs of the different political groups are expected to decide on
the compromise amendment in the next few days. The amendment will then be voted
in the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee on 26
March.
The Commission’s proposal
for a Regulation on ship recycling, on which the amendment is based, was issued
a year ago. It proposes a system of survey, certification and authorisation for
large commercial seagoing vessels that fly the flag of an EU Member State,
covering their whole life cycle from construction to operation and recycling.
The new system builds upon the Hong Kong Convention for the safe and
environmentally sound recycling of ships, which IMO adopted in 2009. The
proposal aims to implement the Convention quickly, without waiting for its
ratification and entry into force, a process which can still take several
years. To speed up the formal entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention, the
Commission also presented a draft decision requiring Member States to ratify
it.
Source: espo. 13 March 2013
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