Directive 2009/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims (Text with EEA relevance)

Subject matter

Article 1

This Directive lays down rules applicable to certain aspects of the obligations on shipowners as regards their insurance for maritime claims.

Scope

Article 2

1.   This Directive shall apply to ships of 300 gross tonnage or more. 2.   This Directive shall not apply to warships, auxiliary warships or other State owned or operated ships used for a non commercial public service. 3.   This Directive shall be without prejudice to the regimes established by the instruments in force in the Member State concerned and listed in the Annex hereto.

Definitions

Article 3

For the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply: (a) ‘shipowner’ means the registered owner of a seagoing ship, or any other person such as the bareboat charterer who is responsible for the operation of the ship; (b) ‘insurance’ means insurance with or without deductibles, and comprises, for example, indemnity insurance of the type currently provided by members of the International Group of P & I Clubs, and other effective forms of insurance (including proved self insurance) and financial security offering similar conditions of cover; (c) ‘1996 Convention’ means the consolidated text of the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), as amended by the 1996 Protocol.

Insurance for maritime claims

Article 4

1.   Each Member State shall require that shipowners of ships flying its flag have insurance covering such ships. 2.   Each Member State shall require shipowners of ships flying a flag other than its own to have insurance in place when such ships enter a port under the Member State's jurisdiction. This shall not prevent Member States, if in conformity with international law, from requiring compliance with that obligation when such ships are operating in their territorial waters. 3.   The insurance referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall cover maritime claims subject to limitation under the 1996 Convention. The amount of the insurance for each and every ship per incident shall be equal to the relevant maximum amount for the limitation of liability as laid down in the 1996 Convention.

Inspections, compliance, expulsion from ports and denial of access to ports

Article 5

1.   Each Member State shall ensure that any inspection of a ship in a port under its jurisdiction in accordance with Directive 2009/16/EC, includes verification that a certificate referred to in Article 6 is carried on board. 2.   If the certificate referred to in Article 6 is not carried on board, and without prejudice to Directive 2009/16/EC providing for detention of ships when safety issues are at stake, the competent authority may issue an expulsion order to the ship which shall be notified to the Commission, the other Member States and the flag State concerned. As a result of the issuing of such an expulsion order, every Member State shall refuse entry of this ship into any of its ports until the shipowner notifies the certificate referred to in Article 6.

Insurance certificates

Article 6

1.   The existence of the insurance referred to in Article 4 shall be proved by one or more certificates issued by its provider and carried on board the ship. 2.   The certificates issued by the insurance provider shall include the following information: (a) name of ship, its IMO number, and port of registry; (b) shipowner’s name and principal place of business; (c) type and duration of the insurance; (d) name and principal place of business of the provider of the insurance and, where appropriate, the place of business where the insurance is established. 3.   If the language used in the certificates is neither English nor French nor Spanish, the text shall include a translation into one of these languages.

Penalties

Article 7

For the purposes of Article 4(1), Member States shall lay down a system of penalties for the breach of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all the measures necessary to ensure that those penalties are applied. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

Reports

Article 8

Every three years, and for the first time before 1 January 2015, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of this Directive.

Transposition

Article 9

1.   Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 1 January 2012. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a 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 provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Entry into force

Article 10

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

Addressees

Article 11

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

ANNEXSupplementary provisions

ANNEX — The International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992. — The International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996 (HNS Convention). — The International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 (‘Bunker Oil’ Convention). — The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007 (‘Wrecks Removal’ Convention). — Regulation (EC) No 392/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents.