HIGHLIGHTS 1992-2000

Safe Operation of Traditional Ships A Common European Approach  

 

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 will be 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:

  • to protect  operating Traditional Ships from threats due to inappropriate application of modern ship safety rules,

  • to influence and control any European harmonisation processes on the field of ship safety,

  • to enable transnational traffic of Traditional Ships under the regime of Port State Control without the necessity to convert these ships into modern SOLAS ships.

EMH proudly states after nearly four years of hard work in the Safety Council, that these objectives are largely attainable.

   

Preservation and Operation of Traditional Ships as a Public Objective  

Cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

One important objective of EMH is to work for political conditions, which support the preservation of a living maritime heritage and to identify legal and political obstacles on a European scale. This is a cultural objective. In matters of culture the EU-principle of subsidiary leaves the policies and decisions with the national governments of the member states. The national parliaments of the EU-member states (and some more!) are united in the "Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe".

 

EMH provides official organisations of the EU and the Council of Europe with a representative and consultative service in all aspects of preserving and operating Traditional Ships.

 

That this advice is sought, is proven since we were requested to present the EMH and the variety of operating traditional ships in Europe in front of a large Maritime Heritage symposium in Lisbon in 1998. Many parliamentarians  received for the first time a comprehensive briefing ( between the usual papers of underwater archaeologists and scientists) about a phenomenon, which nearly every of them knew from a local festival, but which no one of them imagined to be so widespread and lively in Europe. Later EMH was invited to contribute to  the Recommendation No.1486 (2000) „Maritime and Fluvial Heritage“ of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

This paper, which was worked out in consultation with EMH, recommends all European Governments, among other objectives, to:

  • xv     support and encourage public and private bodies and voluntary associations which preserve historic vessels, or life size or large scale replicas, in working order;

  • xvi.   encourage the display and use of these vessels for the education and enjoyment of the general public;

  • vii.    encourage further development of a system of mutual acceptability by the maritime authorities of nation states of standards for the safe operation of traditional vessels in European waters.

This document, which was launched by the representatives of the national parliaments of the member states of the Council of Europe (larger than EU), demonstrates for the first time, that operating traditional ships is not only a private passion of some crazy owners. The massive and official public interest for our topic is confirmed by this document.  It is an important  proof, in all kinds of negotiations with any government body anywhere in Europe, that the public interest in operation of traditional ships may require certain care and flexibility.

see for the text and reply from the Committee of Ministers