EMSA’s Maritime Support Services (MSS)
EMSA’s Maritime Support Services (MSS)
Telephone
+351 211 209 415
Fax
+351 211 209 480
Email
MaritimeSupportServices@emsa.europa.eu
1.08 Incidents / accidents
Agency responsible
Data group
01. SSN Products
Coast Guard Functions with access
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Search and Rescue
Ship Casualty & Maritime Assistance Service
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Status of implementation
Available
Dissemination channels
Agency web interface
Point(s) of contact
Last reviewed on
Last saved on
Description
Information on accidents and incidents which have occurred at sea (as per Articles 16, 17 and 25 of Directive 2002/59/EC as amended) and information on ships which have not delivered their ship generated waste and cargo residues (as per Articles 11.2.d and 12.3 of Directive 2000/59/EC).
Data elements
The incident types that are reported to SSN are:
- SITREP Incident Report: related to ship safety and seaworthiness;
- POLREP Incident Reports: Pollution reports that cover any situation that is liable to lead to the pollution of the waters or coastline of a Member State or for reporting those ships for which where there is proof or presumptive evidence of a deliberate illegal discharge;
- Lost and Found objects Incident Reports: reports that cover containers or packages seen drifting at sea;
- Failed notification Incident Report: reports on ships which have failed to comply with the notification and reporting requirements;
- VTS rules infringement Incident Report: reports on ships which have failed to comply with the applicable rules in ship routing systems and VTSs that are within the responsibility of a Member State;
- Banned ship Incident Report: reports on ships which have been refused access to ports of Member States or which have been the subject of a report or notification by a Member State in accordance with Annex I-1 to Council Directive 95/21/EC of 19 June 1995 on port State Control of shipping;
- Insurance failure Incident Report: reports on ships which have failed to notify that they have, or do not have, insurance certificates or financial guarantees required under Community legislation and/or international rules;
- Pilot or port Incident Report: reports on ships which have been reported by pilots or port authorities as having apparent anomalies which may prejudice their safe navigation or create a risk for the environment;
- Waste Incident Reports: reports on ships which have not delivered their ship-generated waste and cargo residues;
- Other Incident Report: type “other” can be notified to report other situations potentially posing a potential hazard to shipping or a threat to maritime safety, the safety of individuals or the environment that Member States wishes to share on a voluntary basis.
Legal basis
Articles 16, 17, 21 and 25 of the Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system and repealing Council Directive 93/75/EEC, as amended (VTMIS Directive).
In addition, Article 12.3 of Directive 2000/59/EC as amended on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues (PRF Directive) provides a legal basis to exchange information regarding the identification of ships which have not delivered their ship-generated waste and cargo residues in accordance with the PRF Directive.
Scope and source of data
Masters of ships sailing within the SAR area and/or EEZ (or equivalent) of a Member State must send Incident Reports to the coastal station responsible for that area should their ships be involved in an accident or incident
According to Article 22.2 of Directive 2002/59/EC, as amended, Member States should define the geographical area and the designated coastal stations to whom the reports should be made.
In principle, Incident reports should (according to Article 2 of Directive 2002/59/EC, as amended) be sent for ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards excluding:
- warships, naval auxiliaries and other ships owned or operated by a Member State and used for non-commercial public service, and;
- fishing vessels, traditional ships and recreational craft with a length of less than 45 metres.
Waste incident reports should, according to article 11.2 of Directive 2000/59/EC, be sent for ships, other than fishing vessels and recreational crafts, authorised to carry no more than 12 passengers. However, waste incident reports may also be sent on voluntary basis for any ship, irrespective of their flag, calling at, or operating within, a port of a Member State, and acting in infringement of Directive 2000/59/EC.
Technical implementation
Information on accidents and incidents which have occurred at sea is reported at national level to the national SSN system and then made available to other Member States via SafeSeaNet (SSN).
The central SSN system stores information on accidents and incidents which enables rapid, effective response to users’ requests. In addition, the Incident Reports can be distributed to the relevant Member States along the planned route of the vessel and to the flag State (if the vessel is flying an EU flag).
SSN is a network of national systems in Member States which are linked to a central SSN system that acts as a nodal point.
The central SSN system provides different alternative mechanisms to enable the exchange and sharing of datasets and information:
- System-to-system interface, which allows exchange of data between the national and central SSN applications; any other external system and the central SSN;
- graphical user interface providing access to port call data;
- app for mobile devices (IMS app) providing access to the current maritime picture on smart phones and tablets.
Information on accidents and incidents which have occurred at sea is available online for a minimum of 5 years. The data is archived for an additional 5 years and may be provided upon request.
Conditions of access
In accordance with the Interface and Functionalities Control Document (IFCD), information on accidents and incidents is available to EU Member States’ authorities executing functions in the maritime domain, ports, EMSA, EC and other EU bodies users.
Access to other communities may be requested, either on an ad hoc basis (to satisfy a given need during a given period), or in the form of an agreement (MoU), which allows access to SSN by specific users who are involved in pilot projects, but who are outside the SSN legal framework. In each case, access will only be granted to information relevant to their mandate. The access rights for each user profile shall be determined by a decision of the HLSG for the specific agreed purpose.