2019/0390/NL
EC/EFTA
NL Niederlande
  • B20 - Sicherheit
2019-11-04
2019-08-07

Cargo vessels used to transport and accommodate industrial personnel

Order of the Minister for Infrastructure and Public Works amending the Order on the safety of seagoing vessels, for cargo vessels for the transport more than 12 industrial workers

This Order amends the Order on the safety of seagoing vessels [Regeling veiligheid zeeschepen] to provide an option to issue safety certificates in line with the SOLAS convention for six new categories of cargo vessels used to transport and accommodate industrial personnel.

Articles 18b, 18c, 21a, 21b and 21c, in conjunction with Annex 3c, may contain technical regulations.

A mutual recognition clause is not provided. In principle, vessels with a national or special certificate are not permitted to call at foreign ports. With regard to high-speed and other offshore service vessels, this typically poses no problem because most of these vessels provide transport to and from wind farms within the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Netherlands. The coastal states neighbouring the Netherlands has the same problem with cargo vessels of this kind. For this reason, both the United Kingdom and Germany have already passed their own regulations for high-speed and other offshore service vessels. Denmark is also working on similar legislation. Discussions are underway with these countries regarding mutual recognition of national safety certificates for these types of vessels. Mutual recognition would allow these vessels to visit ports in other countries if necessary. Moreover, mutual recognition would create a level playing field and avoid major differences between countries in the safety requirements on these vessels that may be relevant to the choice of flag register.