18th November 2012 – 24th November 2023
- LOCAL NEWS
Nothing important to report.
- INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. EU ETS: publication of the implementing act on the responsible entity and administering authorities
On the 23rd November 2023, the European Commission published the act on the rules for the administration of shipping companies by administering authorities under the EU Emissions Trading System.
The aforementioned act will enter into force on the third day following that of its publication.
According to ECSA, some aspects of the implementing act have been slightly changed compared to the draft version.
In particular, the implementing act defines the entity responsible to surrender the EU ETS allowances. The Commission has decided to “depart, for the purpose of the EU ETS, from the meaning of the notion of ‘shipping company’ in general maritime law in order to allow the parties to agree contractually among them on the identity of the entity that is entrusted with the obligations following from the EU ETS”.
The responsible entity is the shipowner. The shipowner can contractually mandate the ISM company to assume responsibility for the EU ETS obligations and to surrender the EU ETS allowances. In this case, the ISM company should provide its administering authority with information on ships under its responsibility (article 1).
The Commission has added a new recital 6 to clarify that: “the entities responsible for compliance with the obligations under Regulation (EU) 2015/7574 and with the obligations under Directive 2003/87/EC must be clearly identified at all times. To this end, and with a view to ensuring coherence in administration and enforcement, Regulation (EU) 2015/757 provides that the same entity must be responsible for both”.
Furthermore, in recital 7 and article 3, the Commission modified the act to provide that the information recorded in Thetis MRV should be used to attribute companies to Member States and not the IMO Unique Company and Registered Owner Identification Number Scheme.
The administering authority is defined as follows:
- The EU Member State where the shipping company is registered, as recorded in Thetis MRV (article 3).
- The EU Member States where the company registered outside the EU had the most port calls, on the basis of data stored in the Union maritime information and exchange system (SafeSeaNet) (article 3).
- If this is the 1st voyage between two Member States of a ship of a shipping company which is not registered in a Member State, the Member State where that voyage started (article 4).
- If the shipping company, which is not registered in a Member State, has its greatest number of port calls in two or more Member States, the Member State where the shipping company had its first port call among the voyages that started or ended in those Member States with an equal number of port calls (article 5).
Related Articles:
Attachment 1: ECSA C-13296 For Information - EU ETS: publication o the implementing act on the responsible entity and administering authority.
EU ETS COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2023/2599
2. EU ETS: Become a CINEA-expert and evaluate Innovation Fund Projects
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) which is the executive agency of the European Commission dealing with the Innovation Fund is currently looking for experts to evaluate projects applying for funding from the Innovation Fund. In this respect, ECSA has called its Members to participate in the assessment of Innovation Fund projects and provide technical expertise on topics ranging from GHG emissions to life cycle assessments of fuels. Please tab here for more information on how and why to apply to become an expert, as well as details on the overall conditions.
Relevant Article:
Attachment 2: ECSA C-13294 For Information - EU ETS: Become a CINEA-expert and evaluate Innovation Fund Projects
3. BIMCO and industry associations develop transit corridors for Persian Gulf security
Taking stock of the situation in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, BIMCO and fellow industry associations have develop transit corridors for the consideration of Ship Masters, Owners and Operators.
As informed, use of the corridors is not mandatory, and decisions should be based on a thorough security risk assessment.
It is essential that Masters, Ship Security Officers, and Company Security Officers carry out detailed Threat and Risk Assessments for each voyage to the Region and for each activity within the Region. To assist vessels transiting through the Region the industry organisations named above have produced a recommended transit route.
Related Article:
4. Maritime Single Window becomes mandatory from January 2024.
According to IMO’s recent announcement, from 1 January 2024 – it will be mandatory for ports around the world to operate Maritime Single Window for the exchange of information required at the point of a ship’s arrival, during its stay and at departure. The new system allows electronic submission of information for efficient ship clearance during port calls. The handover ceremony took place after a week-long user acceptance testing session. Singapore and IMO supported the SWiFT Project, enhancing compliance with the Organization's regulatory framework. The initiative builds on a successful 2019 Maritime Single Window system delivery.
Related Articles:
Safety4Sea 21/11 - Maritime Single Window becomes mandatory from January 2024
5. US TREASURY REPORT
No significant actions reported.
The US Treasury Report for the action reported is hereby attached.
Related Article:
Attachment 3: US Treasury Report for week 18-24/11/2023
6. PIRACY REPORT
No significant actions reported.
The Piracy Report for all actions reported is hereby attached.
Related Article:
Attachment 4: Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, for the period between 25 October – 22 November 2023
Nothing important to report from ILO, Local News and Parliament of Representatives.