Renew Europe on route towards improved and future-proof maritime accident investigation in the European Union

The European Parliament today found an agreement with the Council on the accident investigation in maritime transport Directive. This is the first deal of the Maritime Safety Package, which consists of five legislative acts.

The agreement provides for a harmonised and uniform European system of safety investigations, which is based on lessons learned from maritime accidents and aims to prevent their reoccurrence in the future. Our Renew Europe Group made sure that a better alignment is ensured between EU rules and UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations in this field, which secures a level-playing field for the EU fleet. Furthermore, a better implementation and enforcement of the Directive will be secured through further digitalisation of the maritime sector and better cooperation of maritime safety investigation authorities at EU level.

Caroline NAGTEGAAL (VVD, Netherlands), Rapporteur on The Accident Investigation Directive and Renew Europe shadow-rapporteur on the EMSA Regulation, said: "With the necessary revision of the Accident Investigation Directive we ensure safety at our seas – for both seafarers and fisheries. Our Renew Europe Group made sure that EU rules are in line with international IMO legislation and accidents involving container loss at sea should be addressed with this revision. In this context, the supporting role of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in ensuring regular trainings to the investigation authorities is essential and in this regard, as a Group we insisted for an increased role of EMSA."