22.1.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities L19/17 DIRECTIVE 2001/106/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 December 2001 amending Council Directive 95/21/EC concerning the enforcement, in respect of shipping using Community ports and sailing in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States, of international standards for ship safety, pollution prevention and shipboard living and working conditions (port State control) 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, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (?), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3), 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 13 November 2001, Whereas: (1) Council Directive 95/21/EC (°) establishes a system of port State control of shipping in the European Community based on uniform inspection and detention procedures. (2) It is necessary to take account of the changes that have been made to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conventions, protocols, codes and resolutions and of developments in the framework of the Paris Memor- andum of Understanding (MOU). (3) It is understood that nothing in this Directive has the effect of transferring to port States the responsibilities of flag States including those of the recognised organ- isations acting on behalf of the flag States. (4)  Some ships pose a manifest risk to maritime safety and the marine environment because of their poor condition, flag and history; among which in particular, ships flying the flag of a State described as ‘very high risk” or ‘high risk’ in the black list as published in the annual report of the MOU. They should therefore be refused access to Community ports, unless it can be demonstrated that 1 (*) OJ C 212 E, 25.7.2000, p. 102 and O] C 154, 29.4.2001, p. 67. () O] C 14, 16.1.2001, p. 22. () O] C 22, 24.1.2001, p. 19. (*) Opinion of the European Parliament of 30 November 2000, (O] C 228, 13.8.2001, p. 133), Council Common Position of 26 February 2001 (O] C 101, 30.3.2001, p. 15) and Decision of the European Parliament of 16 May 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Decision of the European Parliament of 24 October 2001 and Decision of the Council of 6 December 2001. () OJ L 157, 7.7.1995, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 1999/97/EC (O] L 331, 23.12.1999, p. 67). they can be operated safely in Community waters. Guidelines must be established setting out the proced- ures applicable in the event of the imposition of such an access ban and of the lifting of the ban. In the interests of transparency, the list of ships refused access to Community ports should be made public. Ships with a high target factor present a particularly serious accident or pollution risk, justifying the need to inspect them frequently at Community ports of call. The categories of ships listed in Annex V to Directive 95/21/EC also present a major accident or pollution hazard when they reach a certain age. The broad discre- tionary power of the inspection authority as to whether to select such ships for expanded inspection prevents the achievement of uniform practices within the Community. It is therefore necessary to make inspection of these ships mandatory. In particular, given the risks of major pollution caused by oil tankers and in view of the fact that the great majority of deficiencies leading to detention concern ships older than 15 years, the expanded inspection regime should be applied to oil tankers from the age of 15 years. The content of the expanded inspections for which guidelines have been laid down may vary considerably at the discretion of the inspection authority. In order to achieve uniform practices within the Community, these guidelines should therefore be made mandatory. However, there should be provision for making an exception when the conduct of an inspection of such ships, in particular in view of the state of the ship's cargo tanks or of operational constraints relating to loading or unloading activities, is impossible or would involve excessive risks for the safety of the ship, its crew, the inspector or the safety of the port area. Member States should be entitled to organise the manda- tory inspections efficiently so as to achieve the highest value added from a strengthened inspection regime, taking into account the various operational conditions and making use of cooperation between ports and Member States, while adhering to the overall quantitative inspection targets.