Directive (EU) 2023/946 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 amending Directive 2003/25/EC as regards the inclusion of improved stability requirements and the alignment of that Directive with the stability requirements defined by the International Maritime Organization (Text with EEA relevance)

‘2 Each Member State, in its capacity as Port State, shall ensure that ro-ro passenger ships flying the flag of a State which is not a Member State comply fully with the requirements of this Directive before they may be engaged on voyages in regular service from or to ports of that Member State in accordance with Directive (EU) 2017/2110 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

‘3 Member States which do not have seaports and which have no ro-ro passenger ships flying their flag that fall within the scope of this Directive may derogate from the provisions of this Directive with the exception of the obligation set out in the second subparagraph. Those Member States which intend to avail themselves of such derogation shall communicate to the Commission by 5 December 2024 if the conditions have been met, and shall inform the Commission of any subsequent change. Such Member States may not allow ro-ro passenger ships that fall within the scope of this Directive to fly their flag until they have transposed and implemented this Directive.’

The significant wave heights (hS) shall be used for determining the height of water on the car deck when applying the specific stability requirements contained in section A of Annex I. The figures of significant wave heights shall be those which are not exceeded by a probability of more than 10 % on a yearly basis.’

1 Without prejudice to the application of Directive 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council , new ro-ro passenger ships certified to carry more than 1350 persons on board shall comply with the specific stability requirements set out in Chapter II-1, Part B of SOLAS 2020.

2 At the company’s choice, new ro-ro passenger ships certified to carry 1350 or fewer persons on board shall comply with: (a) the specific stability requirements set out in Annex I, section A, to this Directive, or (b) the specific stability requirements set out in Annex I, section B, to this Directive. For each such ship, the administration of the Flag State shall, within a period of two months from the date of issuance of the certificate referred to in Article 8, notify the Commission of the choice made of the option referred to in the first subparagraph and include with such notification the details referred to in Annex III.

3 In applying the requirements set out in Annex I, section A, Member States shall use the guidelines set out in Annex II, in so far as this is practicable and compatible with the design of the ship in question.

4 At the company’s choice, existing ro-ro passenger ships certified to carry more than 1350 persons on board which the company introduces to the regular service operation to or from a port of a Member State after 5 December 2024 and which have never been certified in accordance with this Directive, shall comply with: (a) the specific stability requirements set out in Chapter II-1, Part B of SOLAS 2020; or (b) the specific stability requirements set out in Annex I, section A to this Directive, in addition to those set out in Chapter II-1, Part B of SOLAS 2009. The stability requirements that are applied shall be noted in the ship’s certificate required under Article 8.

5 At the company’s choice, existing ro-ro passenger ships certified to carry 1350 or fewer persons on board which the company introduces to the regular service operation to or from a port of a Member State after 5 December 2024 and which have never been certified in accordance with this Directive, shall comply with: (a) the specific stability requirements set out in Annex I, section A to this Directive, or (b) the specific stability requirements set out in Annex I, section B to this Directive. The stability requirements that are applied shall be noted in the ship’s certificate referred to in Article 8.

6 Existing ro-ro passenger ships that were engaged in regular service operation to or from a port of a Member State by 5 December 2024 shall continue to comply with the specific stability requirements set out in Annex I in the version that applied before the entry into force of Directive (EU) 2023/946 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

1 All new and existing ro-ro passenger ships flying the flag of a Member State shall carry a certificate confirming compliance with the specific stability requirements referred to in Article 6. The certificates shall be issued by the administration of the flag State and may be combined with other related certificates. For ro-ro passenger ships complying with the specific stability requirements set out in Annex I, section A, the certificate shall indicate the significant wave height up to which the ship can satisfy the specific stability requirements. The certificate shall remain valid as long as the ro-ro passenger ship operates in an area with the same or a lower value of significant wave height.

2 Each Member State acting in its capacity as Port State shall recognise certificates issued by another Member State in compliance with this Directive.

3 Each Member State acting in its capacity as Port State shall accept certificates issued by a third country certifying that a ro-ro passenger ship complies with the specific stability requirements laid down in this Directive.’

1 If a company operating a regular service on a year-round basis wishes to introduce additional ro-ro passenger ships to operate for a shorter period on that service, it shall notify the competent authority of the Port State or States not later than one month before said ships are operated on that service.

2 However, in cases where, following unforeseen circumstances, a replacement ro-ro passenger ship must be introduced rapidly to ensure continuity of service, Article 4(4) of Directive (EU) 2017/2110 and point 1.3 of Annex XVII to Directive 2009/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council shall apply instead of the notification requirement of paragraph 1.

3 If a company wishes to operate a regular service seasonally for a shorter period not exceeding six months a year, it shall notify the competent authority of the Port State or States no later than three months before that operation takes place.

4 For ro-ro passenger ships that comply with the specific requirements in Annex I, section A, where operations within the meaning of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article take place under conditions of lower significant wave height than those established for the same sea area for all-year-round operation, the significant wave height value applicable for the shorter period may be used by the competent authority for determining the height of water on the deck when applying the specific stability requirements contained in Annex I, section A. The value of the significant wave height applicable for this shorter time period shall be agreed between the Member States or, wherever applicable and possible, between Member States and third countries at both ends of the route.

5 Following agreement of the competent authority of the Port State or States for operations within the meaning of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, the ro-ro passenger ship which undertakes such operations shall be required to carry a certificate confirming compliance with the provisions of this Directive, as provided for in Article 8(1).

The Commission shall evaluate the implementation of this Directive and submit the results of the evaluation to the European Parliament and the Council by 5 June 2033. Information based on the notifications referred to in Article 6(2) shall be made available in anonymised form.’

1 Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 5 December 2024. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2 Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.