Council Regulation (EC) No 718/1999 of 29 March 1999 on a Community-fleet capacity policy to promote inland waterway transport

Article 1

Inland waterway vessels used to carry goods between two or more points by inland waterway in the Member States shall be subject to the Community-fleet capacity policy laid down in this Regulation.

For a period of not more than four years with effect from 29 April 1999 this capacity policy shall include the conditions for bringing into service new capacities, in accordance with this Regulation.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘undertaking’ shall mean any natural or legal person exercising an economic activity on a non-industrial or industrial scale.

The following shall be exempt from this Regulation:

(a) vessels operating exclusively on national waterways not linked to other waterways in the Community;

(b) vessels which, owing to their dimensions, cannot leave the national waterways on which they operate and cannot enter the other waterways of the Community (captive vessels), provided that such vessels are not likely to compete with vessels covered by this Regulation;

(c) vessels operating exclusively on the Danube (and its tributaries) up to Kelheim without leaving it;

(d) pusher craft with a motive power not exceeding 300 kilowatts;

(e) sea-going inland waterway vessels and ship-borne barges used exclusively for international or national transport operations during voyages which include a sea crossing;

(f) vessels used exclusively for storage of goods, i.e. vessels used for loading and subsequently unloading goods at the same place;

(g) dredging equipment, such as hopper vessels and pontoons and floating construction plant, provided that such equipment is not used for the carriage of goods within the meaning of Article 1;

(h) ferries;

(i) vessels providing a non-profit-making public service.

Article 3

This reserve fund shall be financed by:

— the surplus funding from the structural improvement schemes conducted up until 28 April 1999, consisting solely of financial contributions from the industry,

— the special contributions referred to in Article 4,

— the financial resources which could be made available in the event of serious disturbance of the market, as referred to in Article 7 of Directive 96/75/EC.

Article 4

Vessels covered by this Regulation, whether newly constructed, imported from a third country or due to leave the waterways mentioned in Article 2(2)(a), (b) or (c), may be brought into service subject to the condition (the ‘old-for-new’ rule) that the owner of the vessel to be brought into service:

— either scraps, without receiving a scrapping premium, tonnage in line with the ratio between old and new tonnage set by the Commission,

— or pays into the Fund covering the new vessel, or into the Fund chosen by the vessel-owner in accordance with Article 5(2), a special contribution based on the abovementioned ratio or, if the owner scraps a tonnage smaller than required by the abovementioned ratio, pays the difference between the tonnage of the new vessel and the tonnage scrapped.

The ratio shall be constantly reduced to bring it as quickly as possible and in regular stages to zero no later than 29 April 2003.

Once the ratio has been set at zero, the arrangements shall become a standby mechanism and may be reactivated only in the event of a serious disturbance of the market, as provided for by Article 6.

The owner of the vessel must have the choice between paying the special contribution or scrapping old tonnage:

— either at the time that the firm order for construction of the new vessel is placed or at the time the application for import is lodged, provided the vessel is brought into service within twelve months thereafter,

— or at the time that the new or imported vessel is brought into service.

The choice of time must be stated when ordering or applying to import the vessel.

The vessel offered for scrapping as compensatory tonnage must have been scrapped before the new vessel is brought into service.

Owners of vessels to be brought into service who have a higher tonnage than necessary scrapped shall receive no financial compensation for this surplus.

Any Member State concerned may permit vessels definitively withdrawn from the market for use for purposes other than the carriage of goods, such as vessels for humanitarian purposes, museum ships, vessels for developing countries outside Europe or vessels placed at the disposal of non-profit-making bodies, to be counted as compensatory tonnage, i.e. treated as if they had been scrapped. It shall communicate such permission to the Commission, which shall inform the other Member States concerned.

The specialised vessels must be specially and technically designed to carry a single type of goods and technically unsuitable for carrying other goods, it must be impossible to carry this single type of goods in vessels without special technical installations and the owners of the vessels must give a written undertaking that no other goods will be carried in their vessels as long as the ‘old-for-new’ rule applies.

Article 5

Article 6

In the event of serious disturbance on the market, as defined in Article 7 of Directive 96/75/EC and, at the request of a Member State, after the Committee referred to in Article 8 of the said Directive has given its opinion and following the procedure laid down in the same Article, the Commission may reactivate the ‘old-for-new’ rule for a limited period, in accordance with Article 7 of the said Directive, accompanied or not by structural improvement measures.

Under such structural improvement measures owners of vessels referred to in Article 2(1) who scrap a vessel, i.e. who have the hull of the vessel broken up totally or, in the case of pusher craft, destroy the hull and the engine, may receive a scrapping premium at the rate set by the Commission under the conditions laid down in Article 7 from the Fund covering the vessel insofar as the financial resources are available.

However, this premium may be granted only in respect of vessels which the owner proves form part of his active fleet, i.e.:

— vessels which are in good working order, and

— vessels for which the owner can produce valid certificates of water worthiness and tonnage or an authorisation to engage in national transport issued by the competent authority of one of the Member States concerned, and

— vessels which have made at least ten voyages during the 24 months preceding application for the scrapping premium. ‘Voyage’ shall mean a commercial transport operation over a distance normal for the carriage of goods of the same type (over 50 km) and carrying a volume of cargo in reasonable proportion to the cargo capacity of the vessel (at least 70 %).

No premium shall be granted in respect of vessels which, as a result of a wreck or other damage suffered, are no longer repairable or for which the repair costs are higher than the amount of the scrapping premium.

Where the competent authorities have well-founded reasons to doubt that the vessel covered by the application for the scrapping premium is in good working order, they may request a surveyor to certify that the vessel concerned is in a technical condition to carry goods. The scrapping premium shall be refused if the vessel fails to meet this requirement.

Article 7

After consulting the Member States and the organisations representing inland waterway transport at Community level, the Commission shall lay down separately for dry cargo carriers, for tankers and for pusher craft:

— the ratios for the ‘old-for-new’ rule for the vessels referred to in Article 2,

— the rate of the special contributions,

— the period during which scrapping premiums referred to in Article 6 will be paid, the conditions for granting them and the rates,

— the adjustment coefficients (equivalent tonnage) for each type and category of inland waterway vessel.

Article 8

Without prejudice to Article 3(5), any Member State may take measures in particular to:

— make it easier for inland waterway carriers leaving the industry to obtain an early retirement pension or to transfer to another economic activity, inter alia, by providing comprehensive information,

— organise vocational training or retraining schemes for crew members, including workers and owner-operators, leaving the industry and provide appropriate information about those schemes,

— improve skills in inland navigation and knowledge of logistics in order to safeguard the development and future of the profession,

— encourage owner-operators to join trade associations and strengthen the organisations representing inland waterway transport at Union level,

— encourage adaptation of vessels to technical progress in order to improve working conditions, including health protection, and promote safety,

— encourage innovation in respect of vessels and their adaptation to technical progress as regards the environment, including environmentally-friendly vessels,

— encourage ways of leveraging the use of the reserve funds in conjunction with available financial instruments, including, where appropriate, under Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe Facility, and with financing instruments from the European Investment Bank.

Article 9

These measures shall provide, inter alia, for permanent and effective verification of compliance with the obligations imposed on undertakings by this Regulation and the national provisions adopted in implementation thereof, and for appropriate penalties in the event of infringement.

Article 10

This Regulation shall enter into force on 29 April 1999.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.