Inland Waterway Council
In European inland waters the latest harmonisation of safety regulations
is written down in de European Guideline EC82/714. The Rhine rules is a
separate system of harmonisation concerning shipping on the Rhine and all
connected waters.
The EU guideline does not content regulations for passenger vessels and
leisure craft. This means that the majority of traditional ships have only
to comply with national regulations.
In 2006 a new EU guideline will come into force and will replace the
EC82/714. This new guideline will also have regulations for passenger
vessels and leisure craft. The inland waters are divided in the zones 1 till
4 plus the zone R, which means that in future a community certificate is
also valid on the river Rhine.
In the new EU guideline there is a chapter 19 concerning traditional
ships. This chapter will still be empty, but it means that the importance of
traditional shipping is recognised.
The object of the Inland Waterway Council of EMH is to be the partner of
the EU commission in writing the content of chapter 19 and of the Central
Rhine Commission to acquire a similar status in the Rhine Rules.
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 international traffic of Traditional Ships under the
regime of European and national certification.
Members Inland Waterway Council
++LATEST DEVELOPMENTS+++NEWS+++LATEST DEVELOPMENTS+++NEWS++
Hearing JWG - EMH Strasbourg
(March 2012)
On 7 March 2012 a hearing took place in Strasbourg. The joint meeting of experts from the Member States of the European Union
and the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine has invited traditional boat organisations to present their opinion about Chapter 19.
The EMH Inland Waterway Council presented the following
presentations:
EMH:
general presentation
Austria: presentation Freunde Historische Schiffe (FHS)
Belgium:
presentation Watererfgoed Vlaanderen
France: presentation Voiles de Loire
Germany:
presentation Gemeinsame Kommission für Historische Wasserfahrzeuge (GSHW)
Netherlands:
presentation Federatie Oud Nederlandse Vaartuigen (FONV)
United Kingdom:
presentation National Historic Ships (NHS)
Proposal for discussions sent
to JWG (December 2008)
The Inland Waterway Council of EMH presented a proposal
on behalf of the owners of historical vessels for the discussions in the
EU Joint Working Group.
Click for EMH proposal CH 19
Click for Explanatory memorandum
Click for Commentary