WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1842/97 by Irene SOLTWEDEL-SCHÄFER to the Commission. Shipbuilding industry in the EU
C 60/52 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 2. 98 2. Wages: What is the level of wages in each Member State for persons employed in shipbuilding? Companies: How high is the turnover and profits/losses of companies engaged in shipbuilding? What have 3. been the trends over the last 15 years? In which areas are companies investing in the mid-1990s? 4. Tankers: In what years were most oil and chemicals tankers built? How many oil and chemicals tankers are currently operational under the flags of EU Member States? What is the average age of oil and chemical tankers currently in use? 5. Limiting emissions: What directives at EU and Member State level have something to say about limiting emissions from tanker engines? What exactly do these directives say and in what Member States do what limit values apply? What institutions or authorities monitor compliance with the directives, and at what intervals? What penalties are (a) masters, (b) owners and (c) shipyards subject to in the event of failure to comply with the directives? (98/C 60/82) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1842/97 by Irene Soltwedel-Scha¤fer (V) to the Commission (30 May 1997) Subject: Shipbuilding industry in the EU 1. Ecological measures: What is the Commissionís assessment of the ecological value of (a) more stringent limit values, or the introduction of new limit values, for emissions of harmful substances by ships, (b) higher mineral oil taxes, (c) a more effective law on liability? Can such measures make energy-saving propulsion systems and improved navigation and safety methods economically viable? 2. Future of the shipping industry: What is the Commissionís assessment of the future of the shipping industry in the light of the shift of continental flows of traffic from roads to coastal shipping, the increase in marine climate and environmental research and increasing use of the seas and in view of the huge increase in the worldís population in the twenty-first century? Joint answer to Written Questions E-1841/97 and E-1842/97 given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (22 July 1997) The research required to provide a detailed answer to all the Honourable Member’s questions would be out of all proportion to the result obtained and would be inappropriate in the context of answering a written question. Unfortunately, for a large part of the questions data is not available within the Commission. As far as data are available the Commission can give the following answers: In 1995 the Community shipbuilding industry employed 71. 300 people. There is currently no Community legislation limiting emissions of air pollution from tanker engines. Recently the Commission presented a proposal for a Council directive relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels and amending Directive 93/12/EEC (1). According to this proposal, the sulphur content of gas oils for marine use should be limited to a maximum of 0. 2%. Bunker fuels are not covered by the proposal. In general, emissions from ships in international traffic are the responsibility of the International maritime organization’s Marpol convention. In this context there is a proposal to introduce a global cap on the sulphur content of bunker fuels at a maximum level of 5% (the current global average sulphur content is about 3%). There are also proposals to designate the Baltic Sea and the North Sea as so-called SOx emission control areas, which means that in those areas ships would only be allowed to use fuels with a sulphur content lower than 1. 5%. Finally, there is a proposal to introduce emission limit values for nitrogen oxides for new ship engines, that would take effect as from the year 2000. These proposals will be discussed at a meeting in September 1997 on the revision of the Marpol convention