Brussels outlines action plan on ship safety

In the wake of the tanker disasters off Spain and the Shetlands over the winter, proposals for improving ship safety and reducing the risk of marine pollution were issued by the European Commission at the end of February.¹ The main thrust of its Communication is to improve the implementation and enforcement of international shipping rules by the Member States. But unilateral EC action to bar vessels carrying dangerous cargoes from ecologically sensitive areas appears to have been discounted.