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DIRECTIVE 2009/18/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 23 April 2009
establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime
transport sector and amending Council Directive 1999/35/EC and Directive 2002/59/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council
(Text with EEA relevance)

prevent the recurrence of such casualties resulting in loss

of life, loss of ships and pollution of the marine envi
ronment.

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE

EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European

Community, and in particular Article 80(2) thereof,

(3)

The European Parliament, in its resolution of 21 April

2004 on improving safety at sea (4), has urged the
Commission to present a proposal for a directive on
investigating shipping accidents.

(4)

Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Law

of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (hereinafter referred to
as UNCLOS) establishes the right of coastal States to
investigate the cause of any marine casualty occurring
within their territorial seas which might pose a risk to
life or to the environment, involve the coastal State's
search and rescue authorities, or otherwise affect the
coastal State.

(5)

Article 94 of UNCLOS establishes that flag States are to

cause an inquiry to be held, by or before a suitably
qualified person or persons, into certain casualties or
incidents of navigation on the high seas.

(6)

Regulation I/21 of International Convention for the

Safety of Life at Sea of 1 November 1974 (hereinafter
referred to as SOLAS 74), the International Convention
of Load Lines of 5 April 1966 and the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
of 2 November 1973 lay down the responsibilities of flag
States to conduct casualty investigations and to supply
the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) with
relevant findings.

(7)

The Code for the Implementation of Mandatory IMO

Instruments annexed to Resolution A.996(25) of the
IMO Assembly of 29 November 2007 recalls the obli
gation of flag States to ensure that marine safety inves
tigations are conducted by suitably qualified investigators,
competent in matters relating to marine casualties and
incidents. That Code further requires flag States to be
prepared to provide qualified investigators for that
purpose, irrespective of the location of the casualty or
incident.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and

Social Committee (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the

Regions (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in

Article 251 of the Treaty, in the light of the joint text
approved by the Conciliation Committee on 3 February
2009 (3),

Whereas:

(1)

A high general level of safety should be maintained in

maritime transport in Europe and every effort should be
made to reduce the number of marine casualties and
incidents.

(2)

The expeditious holding of technical investigations into

marine casualties improves maritime safety, as it helps to

(1) OJ C 318, 23.12.2006, p. 195.

(2) OJ C 229, 22.9.2006, p. 38.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 25 April 2007 (OJ C 74 E,
30.3.2008, p. 546), Council Common Position of 6 June 2008 (OJ
C 184 E, 22.7.2008, p. 23), Position of the European Parliament of
24 September 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal),
Council Decision of 26 February 2009 and Legislative Resolution
of the European Parliament of 11 March 2009 (not yet published in
the Official Journal).

(4) OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 730.

28.5.2009

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

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Account should be taken of the Code for the Investi

gation of Marine Casualties and Incidents annexed to
Resolution A.849(20) of the IMO Assembly of
27 November 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the IMO
Code for the Investigation of Marine Casualties and
Incidents), which provides for implementation of a
common approach to the safety investigation of marine
casualties and incidents and for cooperation between
States in identifying the contributing factors leading to
marine casualties and incidents. Account should also be
taken of Resolution A.861(20) of the IMO Assembly of
27 November 1997 and Resolution MSC.163(78) of the
IMO Maritime Safety Committee of 17 May 2004, which
provide a definition of voyage data recorders.

Seafarers are recognised as a special category of worker

and, given the global nature of the shipping industry and
the different jurisdictions with which they may be
brought into contact, need special protection, especially
in relation to contacts with public authorities. In the
interests of increased maritime safety, seafarers should
be able to rely on fair treatment in the event of a
maritime accident. Their human rights and dignity
should be preserved at all times and all safety investi
gations should be conducted in a fair and expeditious
manner. To that end, Member States should, in
accordance with their national legislation, further take
into account the relevant provisions of the IMO
guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers in the
event of a maritime accident.

Member States, acting in the framework of their legal

systems, should protect witness statements following an
accident and prevent them from being used for purposes
other than safety investigations, with the objective of
avoiding any discriminatory or retaliatory measures
being taken against witnesses because of their partici
pation in the investigations.

Council Directive 1999/35/EC of 29 April 1999 on a

system of mandatory surveys for the safe operation of
regular ro-ro ferry and high-speed passenger craft
services (1) requires Member States to define, in the
framework of their respective legal systems, a legal
status that will enable them and any other substantially
interested Member State to participate, to cooperate in,
or, where provided for under the IMO Code for the
Investigation of Marine Casualties and Incidents, to
conduct any marine casualty or incident investigation
involving a ro-ro ferry or high-speed passenger craft.

Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of

the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a Community
vessel traffic monitoring and information system (2)
requires Member States to comply with the IMO Code

(1) OJ L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 208, 5.8.2002, p. 10.

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for the Investigation of Marine Casualties and Incidents

and ensure that the findings of the accident investigations
are published as soon as possible after its conclusion.

(13)

Conducting safety investigations into casualties and

incidents involving seagoing vessels, or other vessels in
ports or other restricted maritime areas, in an unbiased
manner is of paramount importance in order to effec
tively establish the circumstances and causes of such
casualties or incidents. Such investigations should
therefore be carried out by qualified investigators under
the control of an independent body or entity endowed
with the necessary powers in order to avoid any conflict
of interest.

(14)

Member States should, in compliance with their legis

lation as regards the powers of the authorities responsible
for the judicial inquiry and in collaboration with those
authorities, where appropriate, ensure that those
responsible for the technical inquiry are allowed to
carry out their tasks under the best possible conditions.

(15)

This Directive should be without prejudice to Directive

95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals
with regard to the processing of personal data and on
the free movement of such data (3).

(16)

Member States should ensure that their legal systems

enable them and any other substantially interested
Member States to participate or cooperate in, or
conduct, accident investigations on the basis of the
provisions of the IMO Code for the Investigation of
Marine Casualties and Incidents.

(17)

In principle, each marine casualty or incident should be

subject to only one investigation carried out by a
Member State or a lead investigating Member State
with the participation of any other substantially
interested States. In exceptional duly justified cases
involving two or more Member States in connection
with the flag of the ship concerned, the location of the
casualty or the nationality of the victims, parallel inves
tigations could be conducted.

(18)

A Member State may delegate to another Member State

the task of leading a marine casualty or incident safety
investigation (hereinafter referred to as safety investi
gation) or specific tasks of such investigation, if
mutually agreed.

(3) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

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(19)

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Member States should make every effort not to charge

for costs for assistance requested in the framework of
safety investigations involving two or more Member
States. Where assistance is requested from a Member
State that is not involved in the safety investigation,
Member States should agree on the reimbursement of
costs incurred.

(20)

Under Regulation V/20 of SOLAS 74, passenger ships

and ships other than passenger ships of 3 000 gross
tonnage and upwards constructed on or after 1 July
2002 must carry voyage data recorders to assist in
accident investigations. Given its importance in the
formulation of a policy to prevent shipping accidents,
such equipment should be systematically required on
board ships making national or international voyages
which call at Community ports.

(21)

The data provided by a voyage data recording system, as

well as by other electronic devices, can be used both
retrospectively after a marine casualty or incident to
investigate its causes and preventively to gain experience
of the circumstances capable of leading to such events.
Member States should ensure that such data, when
available, are properly used for both purposes.

(22)

Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European

Parliament and of the Council (1) requires the European
Maritime Safety Agency (hereinafter referred to as the
Agency) to work with the Member States to develop
technical solutions and provide technical assistance
related to the implementation of Community legislation.
In the field of accident investigation, the Agency has the
specific task of facilitating cooperation between the
Member States and the Commission in the development,
with due regard to the different legal systems in the
Member States, of a common methodology for investi
gating maritime accidents according to agreed inter
national principles.

(23)

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002, the

Agency facilitates cooperation in the provision of
support given by the Member States in activities
concerning investigations, and in analysing existing
accident investigation reports.

(24)

Any relevant lessons drawn from accident investigations

should be taken into account in the development or
modification of a common methodology for investigating
marine casualties and incidents.

28.5.2009

(26)

Since the aim of the technical safety investigation is the

prevention of marine casualties and incidents, the
conclusions and the safety recommendations should in
no circumstances determine liability or apportion blame.

(27)

Since the objective of this Directive, namely to improve

maritime safety in the Community and thereby reduce
the risk of future marine casualties, cannot be sufficiently
achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by
reason of the scale or the effects of the action, be
better achieved at Community level, the Community
may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle
of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In
accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set
out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond
what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(28)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this

Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers
conferred on the Commission (2).

(29)

In particular, the Commission should be empowered to

amend this Directive in order to apply subsequent
amendments to the international conventions,
protocols, codes and resolutions related thereto and to
adopt or modify the common methodology for investi
gating marine casualties and incidents. Since those
measures are of general scope and are designed to
amend non-essential elements of this Directive, inter
alia, by supplementing it with new non-essential
elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the
regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in
Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC.

(30)

In accordance with point 34 of the Interinstitutional

Agreement on better law-making (3), Member States are
encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the
interests of the Community, their own tables illustrating,
as far as possible, the correlation between this Directive
and the transposition measures, and to make them
public,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1
Subject matter

(25)

The safety recommendations resulting from a safety

investigation should be duly taken into account by the
Member States and the Community.

(1) OJ L 208, 5.8.2002, p. 1.

1.
The purpose of this Directive is to improve maritime
safety and the prevention of pollution by ships, and so
reduce the risk of future marine casualties, by:
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(3) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.

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(a) facilitating the expeditious holding of safety investigations

and proper analysis of marine casualties and incidents in
order to determine their causes; and

A.849(20) of the IMO Assembly of 27 November 1997,

in its up-to-date version;

(b) ensuring the timely and accurate reporting of safety inves

tigations and proposals for remedial action.

2. the following terms shall be understood in accordance with

the definitions contained in the IMO Code for the Investi
gation of Marine Casualties and Incidents:

2.
Investigations under this Directive shall not be concerned
with determining liability or apportioning blame. However,
Member States shall ensure that the investigative body or
entity (hereinafter referred to as the investigative body) is not
refraining from fully reporting the causes of a marine casualty
or incident because fault or liability may be inferred from the
findings.
Article 2
Scope
1.
This Directive shall apply to marine casualties and
incidents that:
(a) involve ships flying the flag of one of the Member States;
(b) occur within Member States' territorial sea and internal
waters as defined in UNCLOS; or
(c) involve other substantial interests of the Member States.
2.
This Directive shall not apply to marine casualties and
incidents involving only:
(a) ships of war and troop ships and other ships owned or
operated by a Member State and used only on government
non-commercial service;
(b) ships not propelled by mechanical means, wooden ships of
primitive build, pleasure yachts and pleasure craft not
engaged in trade, unless they are or will be crewed and
carrying more than 12 passengers for commercial purposes;
(c) inland waterway vessels operating in inland waterways;

(a) marine casualty;

(b) very serious casualty;
(c) marine incident;
(d) marine casualty or incident safety investigation;
(e) lead investigating State;
(f) substantially interested State;

3. the term serious casualty shall be understood in accordance

with the updated definition contained in Circular MSCMEPC.3/Circ.3 of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee and
Marine Environment Protection Committee of 18 December
2008;

4. IMO guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers in the

event of a maritime accident shall mean the guidelines as
annexed to Resolution LEG.3(91) of the IMO Legal
Committee of 27 April 2006 and as approved by the
Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation
in its 296th session of 12 to 16 June 2006;

5. the terms ro-ro ferry and high-speed passenger craft shall

be understood in accordance with the definitions contained
in Article 2 of Directive 1999/35/EC;

6. Voyage data recorder (hereinafter referred to as VDR) shall

be understood in accordance with the definition contained in
Resolution A.861(20) of the IMO Assembly and Resolution
MSC.163(78) of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee;

(d) fishing vessels with a length of less than 15 metres;

(e) fixed offshore drilling units.
Article 3
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive:
1. IMO Code for the Investigation of Marine Casualties and
Incidents shall mean the Code for the Investigation of
Marine Casualties and Incidents annexed to Resolution

7. safety recommendation shall mean any proposal made,

including for the purposes of registration and control, by:

(a) the investigative body of the State conducting, or leading,

the safety investigation on the basis of information
derived from that investigation; or, where appropriate,

(b) the Commission, acting on the basis of an abstract data

analysis and the results of safety investigations carried
out.

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Article 4
Status of safety investigations
1.
Member States shall define, in accordance with their legal
systems, the legal status of the safety investigation in such a way
that such investigations can be carried out as effectively and
rapidly as possible.
Member States shall ensure, in accordance with their legislation
and, where appropriate, through collaboration with the auth
orities responsible for the judicial inquiry, that safety investi
gations are:
(a) independent of criminal or other parallel investigations held
to determine liability or apportion blame; and
(b) not unduly precluded, suspended or delayed by reason of
such investigations.
2.
The rules to be established by the Member States shall
include, in accordance with the permanent cooperation
framework referred to in Article 10, provisions for allowing:
(a) cooperation and mutual assistance in safety investigations
led by other Member States, or the delegation to another
Member State of the task of leading such an investigation in
accordance with Article 7; and
(b) coordination of the activities of their respective investigative
bodies to the extent necessary to attain the objective of this
Directive.
Article 5

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Where the investigative body decides not to undertake a

safety investigation, the reasons for that decision shall be
recorded and notified in accordance with Article 17(3).

In the case of any other marine casualty or incident, the inves

tigative body shall decide whether or not a safety investigation
is to be undertaken.

In the decisions referred to in the first and second subpara

graphs, the investigative body shall take into account the
seriousness of the marine casualty or incident, the type of
vessel and/or cargo involved, and the potential for the
findings of the safety investigation to lead to the prevention
of future casualties and incidents.

3.
The scope and practical arrangements for the conduct of
safety investigations shall be determined by the investigative
body of the lead investigating Member State in cooperation
with the equivalent bodies of the other substantially interested
States, in such manner as appears to it most conducive to
achieving the objective of this Directive, and with a view to
preventing future casualties and incidents.

4.
When carrying out safety investigations, the investigative
body shall follow the common methodology for investigating
marine casualties and incidents developed pursuant to
Article 2(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002. Investigators
may depart from that methodology in a specific case where
this can be justified as necessary, in their professional
judgement, and if needed to achieve the aims of the investi
gation. The Commission shall adopt or modify the metho
dology for the purposes of this Directive, taking into account
any relevant lessons drawn from safety investigations.

Obligation to investigate
1.
Each Member State shall ensure that a safety investigation
is carried out by the investigative body referred to in Article 8
after very serious marine casualties:
(a) involving a ship flying its flag, irrespective of the location of
the casualty;
(b) occurring within its territorial sea and internal waters as
defined in UNCLOS, irrespective of the flag of the ship or
ships involved in the casualty; or

That measure, designed to amend non-essential elements of this

Directive, inter alia, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred
to in Article 19(3).

5.
A safety investigation shall be started as promptly as is
practicable after the marine casualty or incident occurs and, in
any event, no later than two months after its occurrence.

Article 6

(c) involving a substantial interest of the Member State, irre

spective of the location of the casualty and of the flag of the
ship or ships involved.

Obligation to notify

2.
In addition, in the case of serious casualties, the investi
gative body shall carry out a preliminary assessment in order to
decide whether or not to undertake a safety investigation.

A Member State shall require, in the framework of its legal

system, that its investigative body be notified without delay,
by the responsible authorities and/or by the parties involved,
of the occurrence of all casualties and incidents falling within
the scope of this Directive.

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Article 7
Leading of, and participation in, safety investigations
1.
In principle, each marine casualty or incident shall be
subject to only one investigation carried out by a Member
State or a lead investigating Member State with the participation
of any other substantially interested Member State.

In cases of safety investigations involving two or more Member

States, the Member States concerned shall therefore cooperate
with a view to rapidly agreeing which of them is to be the lead
investigating Member State. They shall make every effort to
agree on the procedures to investigate. In the framework of
this agreement, other substantially interested States shall have
equal rights and access to witnesses and evidence as the
Member State conducting the safety investigation. They shall
also have the right to see their point of view taken into con
sideration by the lead investigating Member State.

The conduct of parallel safety investigations into the same

marine casualty or incident shall be strictly limited to excep
tional cases. In such cases, Member States shall notify the
Commission of the reasons for conducting such parallel inves
tigations. Member States conducting parallel safety investi
gations shall cooperate with each other. In particular, the inves
tigative bodies involved shall exchange any pertinent infor
mation gathered in the course of their respective investigations,
in particular in order to reach, as far as possible, shared
conclusions.

Member States shall abstain from any measure which could

unduly preclude, suspend or delay the conduct of a safety
investigation falling within the scope of this Directive.

2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1, each Member State shall
remain responsible for the safety investigation and coordination
with other substantially interested Member States until such
time as it is mutually agreed which of them is to be the lead
investigating State.

3.
Without prejudice to its obligations under this Directive
and international law, a Member State may, on a case-by-case
basis, delegate by mutual agreement to another Member State
the task of leading a safety investigation or specific tasks for the
conduct of such an investigation.

4.
When a ro-ro ferry or high-speed passenger craft is
involved in a marine casualty or incident, the safety investi
gation procedure shall be launched by the Member State in
whose territorial sea or internal waters as defined in UNCLOS
the accident or incident occurs or, if occurring in other waters,
by the last Member State visited by that ferry or craft. That State
shall remain responsible for the safety investigation and coordi
nation with other substantially interested Member States until it

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is mutually agreed which of them is to be the lead investigating

State.

Article 8
Investigative bodies
1.
Member States shall ensure that safety investigations are
conducted under the responsibility of an impartial permanent
investigative body, endowed with the necessary powers, and by
suitably qualified investigators, competent in matters relating to
marine casualties and incidents.

In order to carry out a safety investigation in an unbiased

manner, the investigative body shall be independent in its
organisation, legal structure and decision-making of any party
whose interests could conflict with the task entrusted to it.

Landlocked Member States which have neither ships nor vessels

flying their flag will identify an independent focal point to
cooperate in the investigation pursuant to Article 5(1)(c).

2.
The investigative body shall ensure that individual inves
tigators have a working knowledge of, and practical experience
in, those subject areas pertaining to their normal investigative
duties. Additionally, the investigative body shall ensure ready
access to appropriate expertise, as necessary.

3.
The activities entrusted to the investigative body may be
extended to the gathering and analysis of data relating to
maritime safety, in particular for prevention purposes, insofar
as these activities do not affect its independence or entail
responsibility in regulatory, administrative or standardisation
matters.

4.
Member States, acting in the framework of their respective
legal systems, shall ensure that the investigators of its investi
gative body, or of any other investigative body to which it has
delegated the task of safety investigation, where appropriate in
collaboration with the authorities responsible for the judicial
inquiry, be provided with any information pertinent to the
conduct of the safety investigation and therefore be authorised
to:

(a) have free access to any relevant area or casualty site as well
as to any ship, wreck or structure including cargo,
equipment or debris;

(b) ensure immediate listing of evidence and controlled search

for and removal of wreckage, debris or other components
or substances for examination or analysis;

(c) require examination or analysis of the items referred to in

point (b), and have free access to the results of such exam
inations or analysis;

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(d) have free access to, copy and have use of any relevant
information and recorded data, including VDR data,
pertaining to a ship, voyage, cargo, crew or any other
person, object, condition or circumstance;

(e) have free access to the results of examinations of the bodies

of victims or of tests made on samples taken from the
bodies of victims;

28.5.2009

(b) records revealing the identity of persons who have given

evidence in the context of the safety investigation;
(c) information relating to persons involved in a marine
casualty or incident which is of a particularly sensitive
and private nature, including information concerning their
health.
Article 10

(f) require and have free access to the results of examinations

of, or tests made on samples taken from, people involved in
the operation of a ship or any other relevant person;

(g) interview witnesses in the absence of any person whose

interests could be considered as hampering the safety inves
tigation;

(h) obtain survey records and relevant information held by the

flag State, the owners, classification societies or any other
relevant party, whenever those parties or their represen
tatives are established in the Member State;

(i) call for the assistance of the relevant authorities in the

respective States, including flag-State and port-State
surveyors, coastguard officers, vessel traffic service
operators, search and rescue teams, pilots or other port or
maritime personnel.

5.
The investigative body shall be enabled to respond im
mediately on being notified at any time of a casualty, and to
obtain sufficient resources to carry out its functions indepen
dently. Its investigators shall be afforded status giving them the
necessary guarantees of independence.

6.
The investigating body may combine its tasks under this
Directive with the work of investigating occurrences other than
marine casualties on condition that such investigations do not
endanger its independence.

Article 9
Confidentiality
Without prejudice to Directive 95/46/EC, Member States, acting
in the framework of their legal systems, shall ensure that the
following records are not made available for purposes other
than the safety investigation, unless the competent authority
in that Member State determines that there is an overriding
public interest in the disclosure of:

(a) all witness evidence and other statements, accounts and

notes taken or received by the investigative body in the
course of the safety investigation;

Permanent cooperation framework

1.
Member States shall, in close cooperation with the
Commission, establish a permanent cooperation framework
enabling their respective investigative bodies to cooperate
among themselves to the extent necessary to attain the
objective of this Directive.
2.
The rules of procedure of the permanent cooperation
framework and the organisation arrangements required
therefor shall be decided in accordance with the regulatory
procedure referred to in Article 19(2).
3.
Within the permanent cooperation framework, the inves
tigative bodies in the Member States shall agree, in particular,
upon the best modalities of cooperation in order to:
(a) enable investigative bodies to share installations, facilities
and equipment for the technical investigation of wreckage
and ship's equipment and other objects relevant to the
safety investigation, including the extraction and evaluation
of information from VDRs and other electronic devices;
(b) provide each other with the technical cooperation or
expertise needed to undertake specific tasks;
(c) acquire and share information relevant for analysing
casualty data and making appropriate safety recommen
dations at Community level;
(d) draw up common principles for the follow-up of safety
recommendations and for the adaptation of investigative
methods to the development of technical and scientific
progress;
(e) manage appropriately the early alerts referred to in
Article 16;
(f) establish confidentiality rules for the sharing, in the respect
of national rules, of witness evidence and the processing of
data and other records referred to in Article 9, including in
relations with third countries;
(g) organise, where appropriate, relevant training activities for
individual investigators;

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(h) promote cooperation with the investigative bodies of third

countries and with the international maritime accidents
investigation organisations in the fields covered by this
Directive;
(i) provide investigative bodies conducting safety investigations
with any pertinent information.

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(c) prevent interference with any other equipment which might

reasonably be considered pertinent to the safety investi
gation of the accident;

(d) collect and preserve all evidence expeditiously for the

purposes of the safety investigations.

Article 11

Article 14

Costs

Accident reports

1.
Where safety investigations involve two or more Member
States, the respective activities shall be free of charge.

1.
Safety investigations carried out under this Directive shall
result in a published report presented in a format defined by the
competent investigative body and in accordance with the
relevant sections of Annex I.

2.
Where assistance is requested of a Member State that is
not involved in the safety investigation, Member States shall
agree on the reimbursement of costs incurred.
Article 12
Cooperation with substantially interested third countries
1.
Member States shall cooperate, to the maximum extent
possible, with other substantially interested third countries in
safety investigations.
2.
Substantially interested third countries shall, by mutual
agreement, be allowed to join a safety investigation led by a
Member State under this Directive at any stage of the investi
gation.
3.
The cooperation of a Member State in a safety investi
gation conducted by a substantially interested third country
shall be without prejudice to the conduct and reporting
requirements of safety investigations under this Directive.
Where a substantially interested third country is leading a
safety investigation involving one or more Member States,
Member States may decide not to carry out a parallel safety
investigation, provided that the safety investigation led by the
third country is conducted in accordance with the IMO Code
for the Investigation of Marine Casualties and Incidents.

Investigative bodies may decide that a safety investigation which

does not concern a very serious or, as the case may be, a
serious marine casualty and the findings of which do not
have the potential to lead to the prevention of future casualties
and incidents shall result in a simplified report to be published.

2.
Investigative bodies shall make every effort to make the
report referred to in paragraph 1, including its conclusions and
any possible recommendations, available to the public, and
especially to the maritime sector, within 12 months of the
date of the casualty. If it is not possible to produce the final
report within that time, an interim report shall be published
within 12 months of the date of the casualty.

3.
The investigative body of the lead investigating Member
State shall send a copy of the final, simplified or interim report
to the Commission. It shall take into account the possible
technical observations of the Commission on final reports not
affecting the substance of the findings for improving the quality
of the report in the way most conducive to achieving the
objective of this Directive.

Article 15
Article 13
Preservation of evidence
Member States shall adopt measures to ensure that the parties
concerned by casualties and incidents under the scope of this
Directive make every effort to:
(a) save all information from charts, log books, electronic and
magnetic recording and video tapes, including information
from VDRs and other electronic devices relating to the
period preceding, during and after an accident;
(b) prevent the overwriting or other alteration of such infor
mation;

Safety recommendations
1.
Member States shall ensure that safety recommendations
made by the investigative bodies are duly taken into account by
the addressees and, where appropriate, be given an adequate
follow-up in accordance with Community and international law.

2.
Where appropriate, an investigative body or the
Commission shall make safety recommendations on the basis
of an abstract data analysis and of the overall results of safety
investigations carried out.

3.
A safety recommendation shall in no circumstances
determine liability or apportion blame for a casualty.

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Article 16
Early alert system

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3.
Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1)
to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply,
having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Without prejudice to its right to give an early alert, the inves

tigative body of a Member State shall, at any stage of a safety
investigation, if it takes the view that urgent action is needed at
Community level to prevent the risk of new casualties, inform
the Commission without delay of the need to give an early alert.

Amending powers

If necessary, the Commission shall issue a note of warning for

the attention of the responsible authorities in all the other
Member States, the shipping industry, and to any other
relevant party.

The Commission may update definitions in this Directive, and

the references made to Community acts and to IMO
instruments in order to bring them into line with Community
or IMO measures which have entered into force, subject to
observance of the limits of this Directive.

Article 20

Article 17
European database for marine casualties
1.
Data on marine casualties and incidents shall be stored
and analysed by means of a European electronic database to be
set up by the Commission, which shall be known as the
European Marine Casualty Information Platform (EMCIP).
2.
Member States shall notify the Commission of the entitled
authorities that will have access to the database.

Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of

this Directive, inter alia, by supplementing it, shall be adopted
in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny
referred to in Article 19(3).

Acting in accordance with the same procedure, the Commission

may also amend the Annexes.

3.
The investigative bodies of the Member States shall notify
the Commission on marine casualties and incidents in
accordance with the format in Annex II. They shall also
provide the Commission with data resulting from safety inves
tigations in accordance with the EMCIP database scheme.

Amendments to the IMO Code for the Investigation of Marine

Casualties and Incidents may be excluded from the scope of this
Directive pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No
2099/2002.

4.
The Commission and the Member States shall develop the
database scheme and a method for the notification of data
within the appropriate timescale.

Article 21

Article 18
Fair treatment of seafarers
In accordance with their national law, Member States shall take
into account the relevant provisions of the IMO guidelines on
the fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime
accident in the waters under their jurisdiction.

Additional measures
Nothing contained in this Directive shall prevent a Member
State from taking additional measures on maritime safety
which are not covered by it, provided that such measures
neither infringe this Directive nor in any way adversely affect
the attainment of its objective, nor jeopardise the achievement
of its objective.

Article 22
Article 19

Penalties

Committee

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable

to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to
this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure
that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be
effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on
Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (COSS)
established by Regulation (EC) No 2099/2002 of the European
Parliament and the Council (1).
2.
Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at two months.
(1) OJ L 324, 29.11.2002, p. 1.

Article 23
Implementation report
The Commission shall, every five years, submit a report to the
European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of,
and compliance with, this Directive, and, if necessary, propose
further measures in the light of the recommendations set out
therein.

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Article 24

Article 26

Amendments to existing acts

Entry into force

1.

Article 12 of Directive 1999/35/EC shall be deleted.

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.

Article 11 of Directive 2002/59/EC shall be deleted.

Article 25

Article 27

Transposition

Addressees

1.
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 17 June 2011.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a

reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a
reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member
States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

Done at Strasbourg, 23 April 2009.

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

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

H.-G. PTTERING

P. NEAS

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ANNEX I
Safety investigation report content
Foreword
This identifies the sole objective of the safety investigation and indicates that a safety recommendation shall in no case
create a presumption of liability or blame and that the report has not been written, in terms of content and style, with the
intention of it being used in legal proceedings.
(The report should make no reference to witness evidence nor link anyone who is referred to in the report to a person
who has given evidence during the course of the safety investigation.)
1.

SUMMARY
This part outlines the basic facts of the marine casualty or incident: what happened, when, where and how it
happened; it also states whether any deaths, injuries, damage to the ship, cargo, third parties or environment
occurred as a result.

2.

FACTUAL INFORMATION
This part includes a number of discrete sections, providing sufficient information that the investigating body
interprets to be factual, substantiate the analysis and ease understanding.
These sections include, in particular, the following information:

2.1. Ship particulars

Flag/register,
Identification,
Main characteristics,
Ownership and management,
Construction details,
Minimum safe manning,
Authorised cargo.
2.2. Voyage particulars
Ports of call,
Type of voyage,
Cargo information,
Manning.
2.3. Marine casualty or incident information
Type of marine casualty or incident,
Date and time,
Position and location of the marine casualty or incident,
External and internal environment,
Ship operation and voyage segment,
Place on board,
Human factors data,
Consequences (for people, ship, cargo, environment, other).
2.4. Shore authority involvement and emergency response
Who was involved,
Means used,

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Speed of response,
Actions taken,
Results achieved.
3.

NARRATIVE
This part reconstructs the marine casualty or incident through a sequence of events, in a chronological order leading
up to, during and following the marine casualty or incident and the involvement of each actor (i.e. person, material,
environment, equipment or external agent). The period covered by the narrative depends on the timing of those
particular accidental events that directly contributed to the marine casualty or incident. This part also includes any
relevant details of the safety investigation conducted, including the results of examinations or tests.

4.

ANALYSIS
This part includes a number of discrete sections, providing an analysis of each accidental event, with comments
relating to the results of any relevant examinations or tests conducted during the course of the safety investigation
and to any safety action that might already have been taken to prevent marine casualties.
These sections should cover issues such as:
accidental event context and environment,
human erroneous actions and omissions, events involving hazardous material, environmental effects, equipment
failures, and external influences,
contributing factors involving person-related functions, shipboard operations, shore management or regulatory
influence.
The analysis and comment enable the report to reach logical conclusions, establishing all of the contributing factors,
including those with risks for which existing defences aimed at preventing an accidental event, and/or those aimed at
eliminating or reducing its consequences, are assessed to be either inadequate or missing.

5.

CONCLUSIONS
This part consolidates the established contributing factors and missing or inadequate defences (material, functional,
symbolic or procedural) for which safety actions should be developed to prevent marine casualties.

6.

SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS
When appropriate, this part of the report contains safety recommendations derived from the analysis and
conclusions and related to particular subject areas, such as legislation, design, procedures, inspection, management,
health and safety at work, training, repair work, maintenance, shore assistance and emergency response.
The safety recommendations are addressed to those that are best placed to implement them, such as ship owners,
managers, recognised organisations, maritime authorities, vessel traffic services, emergency bodies, international
maritime organisations and European institutions, with the aim of preventing marine casualties.
This part also includes any interim safety recommendations that may have been made or any safety actions taken
during the course of the safety investigation.

7.

APPENDICES
When appropriate, the following non-exhaustive list of information is attached to the report in paper and/or
electronic form:
photographs, moving images, audio recordings, charts, drawings,
applicable standards,
technical terms and abbreviations used,
special safety studies,
miscellaneous information.

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ANNEX II
MARINE CASUALTY OR INCIDENT NOTIFICATION DATA
(Part of the European Marine Casualty Information Platform)
Note: Underlined numbers mean that data should be provided for each ship if more than one ship is involved in the
marine casualty or incident.
01.

Member Sate responsible/contact person

02.

Member Sate investigator

03.

Member State role

04.

Coastal state affected

05.

Number of substantially interested States

06.

Substantially interested States

07.

Notification entity

08.

Time of the notification

09.

Date of the notification

10.

Name of the ship

11.

IMO number/distinctive letters

12.

Ship flag

13.

Type of marine casualty or incident

14.

Type of ship

15.

Date of the marine casualty or incident

16.

Time of the marine casualty or incident

17.

Position Latitude

18.

Position Longitude

19.

Location of the marine casualty or incident

20.

Port of departure

21.

Port of destination

22.

Traffic separation scheme

23.

Voyage segment

24.

Ship operation

25.

Place on board

26.

Lives lost:
Crew
Passengers
Other

27.

Serious injuries:
Crew
Passengers
Other

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28.

Pollution

29.

Ship damage

30.

Cargo damage

31.

Other damage

32.

Brief description of the marine casualty or incident

33.

Brief description of the reasons not to undertake a safety investigation.

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