Article 9
1. A Member State from a port in which a passenger ship departs may lower the twenty-mile threshold laid down in Article 5. Any decision lowering that threshold for journeys between two ports in different Member States shall be taken jointly by those two Member States. 2. (a) When implementing Article 4(1) the Italian Republic may, for regular services crossing the Strait of Messina, adopt provisions for counting the maximum number of persons permitted to be carried on board a passenger ship carrying passenger-train carriages and road vehicles on the basis of the maximum number of passengers authorised to be carried by train carriages and all other vehicles on board, if the persons cannot be counted individually for operational reasons. The application of this provision shall be limited to a period of four years. Any extension shall be decided, in accordance with paragraph 3, in the light of the experience gained. (b) A Member State from a port in which a ship departs may exempt passenger ships operating, exclusively in protected sea areas, regular services of less than one hour between port calls from the obligation laid down in Article 4(2) to communicate the number of persons on board to the passenger registrar or to a shore-based company system that performs the same function. (c) A Member State may exempt passenger ships sailing, exclusively in protected sea areas, between two ports or from and to the same port without intermediate calls from the obligations laid down in Article 5. 3. In the circumstances set out in paragraph 2, the following procedure shall apply: (a) the Member State shall without delay inform the Commission of its decision to grant an exemption or a derogation from the relevant provisions of Articles 4 and 5 giving substantive reasons therefor; (b) if within six months of such notification the Commission considers that that decision is not justified or could have adverse effects on competition, it may, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13, require the Member State to amend or withdraw its decision. 4. For regular services in an area where the annual probability of the significant wave height's exceeding two metres is less than 10%, and - if the voyage does not exceed about thirty miles from the point of departure or - where the primary purpose of the service is to provide regular links to outlying communities for customary purposes, a Member State from a port in which passenger ships sail on domestic voyages or two Member States between ports in which passenger ships sail may request the Commission, if they consider it impracticable for companies to record the information specified in Article 5(1) to derogate, wholly or partly, from this requirement. To this end, evidence of such impracticability shall be provided. In addition, it shall be demonstrated that in the area where such ships operate, shore-based navigational guidance and reliable weather forecasts are provided and that adequate and sufficient search and rescue facilities are available. Derogations granted under this paragraph may not have any adverse effect on competition. A decision shall be taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13. 5. A Member State shall not, under the provisions of this Directive, exempt or grant derogations to any passenger ship sailing from its ports and flying the flag of a third country that is a contracting party to the SOLAS Convention which under the relevant SOLAS provisions does not agree to the application of such exemptions.