Directive (EU) 2024/3099 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 amending Directive 2009/16/EC on port State control (Text with EEA relevance)

‘3 When inspecting a ship flying the flag of a State which is not a party to a Convention, Member States shall ensure that the treatment of that ship and its crew is not more favourable than that of a ship flying the flag of a State party to that Convention. Such a ship shall be subject to a more detailed inspection in accordance with procedures established under the Paris MoU. However, a ship flying the flag of a State which is not a party to the CLC 92, the Bunkers Convention, 2001, or the Nairobi Convention shall not be automatically subject to a more detailed inspection if that ship carries the relevant certificate issued by a State which is a party to those conventions and the inspector performing the inspection decides that a more detailed inspection is unnecessary. That decision and the reasons therefore shall be recorded in the inspection database.

4 Fishing vessels of less than 24 metres in length, warships, naval auxiliaries, wooden ships of a primitive build, government ships used for non-commercial purposes and pleasure yachts not engaged in trade shall be excluded from the scope of this Directive. For the purposes of this Directive, a fishing vessel’s length shall be determined in accordance with the Cape Town Agreement of 2012 on the Implementation of the Provisions of the 1993 Protocol relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977.’

‘4a Member States may carry out port State control inspections of fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over. The Commission, in cooperation with the State signatories to the Paris MoU, may adopt guidelines establishing the detailed arrangements for such a parallel and separate specific port State control regime for those fishing vessels.’

‘2a Inspections of ships carried out by a Member State that exceed the annual inspection commitment of that Member State by 20 % or more shall not be taken into account when calculating the annual inspection commitments of the parties to the Paris MoU.’

1 A Member State which fails to carry out the inspections required under Article 5(2), point (a), shall nevertheless be regarded as complying with that requirement if such missed inspections do not exceed 10 % of the total number of Priority I ships calling at its ports and anchorages, irrespective of their risk profile.

2 Notwithstanding the percentage of missed inspections referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall prioritise the inspection of ships which, according to the information provided by the inspection database, call at ports within the Union infrequently.

3 Notwithstanding the percentage of missed inspections referred to in paragraph 1, for Priority I ships calling at anchorages, Member States shall prioritise the inspection of ships with a high risk profile which, according to the information provided by the inspection database, call at ports within the Union infrequently.’

1 A Member State in which the total number of calls of Priority I ships exceeds its inspection share referred to in Article 5(2), point (b), shall be regarded as complying with its annual inspection commitment if the number of inspections carried out by that Member State corresponds to at least its inspection share as referred to in Article 5(2), point (b), and that Member State does not miss more than 40 % of the total number of Priority I ships calling at its ports and anchorages.

2 A Member State in which the total number of calls of Priority I and Priority II ships is less than 150 % of the inspection share referred to in Article 5(2), point (b), shall nevertheless be regarded as complying with its annual inspection commitment if that Member State carries out inspections of two thirds of Priority I and Priority II ships of the total number of Priority I and Priority II ships calling at its ports and anchorages.’

The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, adopt implementing acts laying down the functional and technical specifications for a validation tool for electronic statutory certificates. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 31(2).’

Each Member State shall ensure that its port authorities or bodies and other relevant authorities or bodies provide the competent authority with the following types of information in their possession: (a) information concerning ships which have failed to notify any information in accordance with the requirements of this Directive, Directive 2002/59/EC and Directive (EU) 2019/883 of the European Parliament and of the Council , as well as, if appropriate, of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004; (b) information concerning ships which have proceeded to sea without having complied with Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2019/883; (c) information concerning ships which have been denied entry or expelled from port on security grounds; (d) information on apparent anomalies reported in accordance with Article 23.

In order to ensure the effective implementation of this Directive and to monitor the overall functioning of the Union’s port State control regime in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002, the Commission shall collect the necessary information and carry out visits to Member States. Each Member State shall develop, implement and maintain a quality management system covering the operational parts of the port State-related activities of its administration directly involved in inspections. That quality management system shall be certified in accordance with applicable international quality standards by 6 July 2032.’

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 30b, to amend Article 2, point (1), with regard to the list of Conventions set out therein, once such Conventions have been adopted as a relevant instrument under the Paris MoU, and to amend Annex VI in order to add to or update the list of procedures, guidelines, instructions and circulars, relating to port State control, adopted under the Paris MoU and set out in that Annex.’

The amendments to the Conventions shall apply without prejudice to the conformity checking procedure set out in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002.’

When adopting the implementing acts referred to in Articles 10(3), 14(4), 15(4), 18a(7), 23(5), 24a(1) and Article 27, second paragraph, in accordance with the procedures referred to in Article 31(2), the Commission shall take specific care to ensure that those acts take into account the expertise and experience gained with the inspection system in the Union and build upon the expertise of the Paris MoU.’

The Commission shall, by 6 July 2032 and every 5 years thereafter, submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of, and compliance with, this Directive. On the basis of that report, the Commission shall determine whether it is necessary to submit a legislative proposal for the amendment of this Directive or for further legal acts in this area. After the IMO has concluded the revision of its carbon intensity indicator (CII), the Commission shall assess the suitability of that CII as an environmental parameter used for the determination of a risk profile of a ship under this Directive. On the basis of that assessment, the Commission shall consider a legislative proposal, as appropriate.’

1 Member States shall adopt and publish by 6 July 2027 the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. 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.

3 By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States which do not have seaports and which can demonstrate that, of the total number of individual vessels calling annually over the three previous years at their river ports, less than 5 % are ships covered by this Directive, may derogate from the obligation to transpose and implement 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.