To enhance the safety and possibilities of rescue of passengers and crew aboard passenger ships operating to or from ports in the Member States of the Community and to ensure that the aftermath of any accident which occurs can be dealt with more effectively.

2) COMMUNITY MEASURE

Council Directive 98/41/EC of 18 June 1998 on the registration of persons sailing on board passenger ships operating to or from ports of the Member States of the Community.

3) CONTENTS

1. This Directive developed from realisation, following shipping accidents in recent years (sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise, the Estonia tragedy) of the need to improve the safety of the carriage of passengers by sea.

2. The Directive does not apply to warships, troopships or pleasure yachts.

3. All persons on board passenger ships departing from a port located in a Member State must be counted prior to departure of the ship. The number of passengers must be communicated to the master of the ship and to the person designated by the company.

4. Where a passenger ship departs from a port located in a Member State to undertake a voyage of more than 20 sea miles, certain passenger information (surname, first name, sex, age and special details) must be collected and communicated to the company's passenger registrar.

5. Passenger registration and information is also required in respect of ships flying the flag of a Member State or non-member country which depart from a port located outside the Community and are bound for a port located within the Community. Member States may grant exemptions or derogations in accordance with the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (1974 SOLAS Convention), but only under the conditions laid down in the Directive.

6. Before a passenger ship departs, its master must ensure that the number of persons on board does not exceed the number the ship is permitted to carry.

7. Each company responsible for operating a passenger ship must:

• set up a system for the registration of passenger information. The system must meet the following functional criteria: readability, availability, facilitation (the system must not cause undue delay for passengers embarking and/or disembarking) and security (protection of data against destruction, loss and unauthorised access);
• appoint a passenger registrar responsible for keeping and transmitting the information.

8. The Member State from which a passenger ship departs may lower the 20 mile threshold and may grant certain exemptions or derogations concerning passenger counting and registration for:

• regular services crossing the Strait of Messina;
• ships operating exclusively in protected sea areas;
• regular services in an area where the probability of wave height exceeding two metres is very low.

9. The registration systems set up in accordance with the Directive must be approved by the Member States, which must check on their proper functioning.

10. The Directive allows for subsequent amendments so that any changes to the SOLAS Convention may be applied.

11. The Commission will be assisted by the Committee set up by Directive 93/75/EC concerning minimum requirements for vessels bound for or leaving Community ports and carrying dangerous or polluting goods.

4) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEGISLATION IN THE MEMBER STATES

01.01.1999

01.01.2000, for Article 5

5) DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE (if different from the above)

22.07.1998

6) REFERENCES

Official Journal L 188, 02.07.1998

7) FOLLOW-UP WORK

On 15 September 2000 the Commission put forward a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 98/41/EC of 18 June 1998 concerning the registration of persons sailing on board passenger ships operating to or from ports of the Member States of the Community (COM(2000)489 final - Official Journal C 365 E, 19.12.2000). Its purpose is to adapt the above-mentioned directive to the setting up of the Sea Safety Committee and to ease its subsequent updating as a function of the changes to the main conventions, resolutions or other agreements taking effect at international level. Parliament approved the Commission's proposal, subject to certain amendments, on first reading on 13 February 2001. The Commission approved some of those amendments.

8) COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING MEASURES

Last updated: 28.02.2001