Regulation (EU) 2025/2434 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2025 on the European Maritime Safety Agency and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 100(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),

Whereas:

(1) A range of different legislative measures have been adopted by the Union in order to enhance maritime safety and maritime security, to promote the sustainability, including by preventing pollution, and the decarbonisation of shipping, and to facilitate the exchange of information and the digitalisation of the maritime sector. In order to be effective, such legislative measures need to be applied in a proper and uniform manner throughout the Union in order to ensure a level playing field, reduce the distortion of competition resulting from the economic advantages enjoyed by non-complying ships and to reward quality shipping operators.

(2) The pursuit of those goals requires substantial technical work led by a specialised body. For that reason it was necessary, as part of the measures set out in the communication of the Commission of 6 December 2000 on a second set of Community measures on maritime safety following the sinking of the oil tanker Erika, to establish, within the existing institutional framework and with respect for the responsibilities and rights of the Member States as flag, port and coastal States, a European agency for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships.

(3) Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) established the European Maritime Safety Agency (‘the Agency’) in order to assist the Commission and the Member States with the effective implementation at Union level of legislation in the areas of maritime safety and the prevention of pollution through appropriate visits to Member States for the monitoring of the relevant legislation and, upon the request of the Member States, with their agreement and in accordance with their needs, the provision of training and capacity building.

(4) Following the establishment of the Agency in 2002, Union legislation in the areas of maritime safety, maritime security, sustainability and the prevention of pollution has expanded significantly, resulting in five amendments to the Agency’s mandate.

(5) Since 2013, the Agency has continued to expand its tasks significantly, through the activation of relevant ancillary tasks provided for in Article 2a of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 and through requests for technical assistance to the Commission and the Member States, in particular in the area of decarbonisation and digitalisation of the maritime sector. In addition, amendments to Directives 2005/35/EC (4), 2009/16/EC (5), 2009/18/EC (6) and 2009/21/EC (7) of the European Parliament and of the Council have had a direct impact on the tasks of the Agency. Those Directives provide in particular for the performance of tasks by the Agency relating to ship-source pollution, the port State control regime at Union level, the Member States’ activities concerning the investigations related to maritime accidents in Union waters and the obligations of the Member States as flag States.

(6) In addition, the governance of the Agency needs to be aligned with the Joint Statement of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission of 2012 on decentralised agencies (‘Joint Statement and Common Approach’) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 (8).

(7) Due to the substantial nature of the changes, it is appropriate to repeal Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 and replace it with a new legislative act.

(8) The Agency was initially established with the objective of contributing to the establishment of a high level of maritime safety across the Union while also assisting with the prevention of pollution from ships and later also from oil and gas installations. While those objectives were further strengthened with the addition of promoting maritime security, the Agency’s focus, during recent years, has been on supporting regulatory developments in the areas of decarbonisation and digitalisation of shipping. It is therefore appropriate for those areas to be incorporated into the overall objectives of the Agency, enabling it to contribute to the goals of the green and digital transition of the industry. Likewise, the crucial role of the Agency in the provision of a maritime awareness picture in the sea, through satellite images and the operation of remotely piloted aircraft systems, justifies the addition of a relevant overall objective for the Agency.

(9) Those objectives should indicate the areas in respect of which the Agency is to provide the Commission and the Member States with technical and operational assistance in order to implement the Union’s policies in the maritime domain.

(10) In order to properly achieve those objectives, it is appropriate that the Agency carry out specific tasks in the area of maritime safety, environmental sustainability, decarbonisation of the maritime sector, maritime security and cybersecurity, maritime surveillance and maritime crises, the promotion of the digitalisation and facilitation of exchanges of data in the maritime domain. In order to focus on specific challenges and to ensure the cost-efficiency of the tasks the Agency is carrying out, the Management Board of the Agency (‘the Management Board’) should have the right to prioritise certain tasks and activities in the Agency’s annual and multiannual planning.

(11) In addition to the specific tasks, the Agency should provide horizontal technical assistance, upon request by the Commission or the Member States, for the implementation of any task that falls within the remit of its competences and objectives and that stems from future needs and developments at Union level. When deciding whether to include such additional tasks in the single programming document of the Agency as part of its annual or multiannual work programme, the Management Board should take into account the available human and financial resources. This is necessary to ensure that certain tasks which constitute the core of the Agency can be prioritised if needed.

(12) The Agency is at the forefront of technical expertise in the areas of its competence and should therefore provide training and capacity-building activities to the Member States upon their request, with their agreement and in accordance with their needs, and use the most technologically advanced tools in the delivery of those training and capacity-building activities.

(13) The technical expertise of the Agency should be further developed by conducting research in the maritime domain and contributing to the relevant Union activities in that area. The Agency should contribute, in close cooperation with the Management Board, and with a proactive approach, to the objectives of enhancing maritime safety, maritime security, the decarbonisation of shipping and the prevention of pollution by ships. In that regard, the Agency could propose to the Commission relevant non-binding guidance, recommendations or manuals that could assist the Commission, the Member States or the maritime industry in attaining those objectives.

(14) As regards maritime safety, the Agency should develop a proactive approach in determining safety risks and challenges. On that basis, it should present to the Commission a report on the progress made in respect of maritime safety every three years. Moreover, the Agency should continue assisting the Commission and the Member States in the implementation of the relevant Union legal acts, in particular in the areas of flag and port State obligations, marine safety investigations, passenger ship safety, recognised organisations as defined in Article 2, point (e), of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) (‘recognised organisations’), and marine equipment. Recognising the evolving nature of maritime safety, the Agency could, upon prior approval by the Management Board, assist the Commission and the Member States in emerging areas related to maritime safety, without prejudice to the competences of Member States in those areas. It is also important to collect further statistics in the area of the training and certification for seafarers and, upon the request of the Management Board, on the implementation of relevant international conventions regarding the on-board working and living conditions of seafarers including, as appropriate, the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006), with the aim of assisting in improving the attractiveness of the seafaring profession and developing appropriate strategic responses to recruit and retain seafarers in activity. Special attention should be given to the work already carried out by relevant international organisations, in order to avoid duplication.

(15) Since the last substantial amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 in 2013, there have been significant legislative developments in the maritime sector with regard to sustainability, such as the prevention of and response to pollution, environmental protection and decarbonisation. In addition to the tasks that the Agency’s mandate covered until now, such as the prevention of pollution from ships and from oil and gas installations, mainly through the operation of CleanSeaNet, established under Directive 2005/35/EC, the Agency should continue assisting the Commission in the implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/883 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10). That task should be reflected in its updated mandate. Moreover, there is an increased need for the Agency to continue assisting in the implementation of the shipping-related elements of Directives 2008/56/EC (11) and (EU) 2016/802 (12) of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Agency should deliver a report on the progress made in the implementation of those directives every three years. Recognising the evolving nature of the maritime sector, the Agency could, upon prior approval by the Management Board, assist the Commission and the Member States in emerging areas related to environmental protection and air pollution, without prejudice to the competences of Member States in those areas.

(16) In the context of the Agency’s assistance to the Commission and Member States in the implementation of Directive 2008/56/EC, the Agency should, where appropriate, conduct further research in respect of issues related to obtaining a good environmental status of marine waters, spills of plastic pellets and underwater-radiated noise.

(17) In the area of decarbonisation of the shipping sector, efforts to limit global maritime emissions through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are underway and should be encouraged, including the rapid implementation of the revised IMO Strategy on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, adopted in 2023. At Union level, a set of policies and legal acts to support the decarbonisation and further promote the sustainability of the maritime sector has been developed, as reflected in particular in the European Green Deal set out in the communication of the Commission of 11 December 2019, the ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future’ set out in the Commission communication of 9 December 2020, the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package set out in the communication of the Commission of 14 July 2021 entitled ‘Fit for 55’: delivering the EU’s 2030 Climate Target on the way to climate neutrality’ and the Zero Pollution Action Plan set out in Commission communication of 12 May 2021 entitled ‘Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All, EU Action Plan: Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil’. As a result, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector should be reflected in the mandate of the Agency.

(18) While the Agency should continue assisting the Commission and the Member States in the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council (13), it should further assist in the implementation of the new regulatory measures to decarbonise the shipping sector stemming from the Fit for 55 legislative package, such as Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council (14) and the shipping-related elements of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (15). Such assistance includes monitoring and reporting on the impacts on port traffic, port evasion and traffic shift to transhipment ports in third countries, to the detriment of Union ports, of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) under Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and of Regulation (EU) 2023/1805. The Agency should continue to be at the forefront of expertise at Union level to assist in the transition of the maritime sector into renewable and low carbon fuels by conducting research relevant for the implementation and development of Union legal acts on the uptake and deployment of sustainable alternative sources of power for ships, such as zero-emission technologies, on-shore power supply or wind-assisted propulsion, as defined in Regulation (EU) 2023/1805, or solar-assisted propulsion, and in relation to the deployment of energy efficiency solutions, such as speed optimisation. In order to monitor progress in the area of decarbonisation of the shipping sector, the Agency should report to the Commission on greenhouse gas reduction efforts, including any recommendations that it might have in that respect, every three years.

(19) In the area of maritime security, the Agency should continue to provide technical assistance to inspections carried out by the Commission in the framework of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (16). Given that the number of cybersecurity incidents in the maritime sector has gone up significantly in recent years, the Agency should support Union efforts to prevent cybersecurity incidents and enhance cyber resilience in the maritime sector by facilitating the exchange of best practices and information on cybersecurity incidents between the Member States.

(20) The Agency should continue to host the vessel traffic monitoring and information system established under Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (17) as well as other systems underpinning the establishment of maritime situational awareness. In that regard, the Agency should continue to play a vital role in the management of the maritime surveillance component of Copernicus Security Service within the governance and financial framework of the Copernicus programme established by Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council (18) (‘Copernicus programme’) and should continue making use of available state-of-the-art technology, such as remotely piloted aircraft systems which provide to Member States and other Union bodies a useful tool for surveillance and monitoring. In addition to those services, the Agency has demonstrated its strategic role in providing maritime situational awareness during various crises, such as the COVID-19 crisis and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. As a result, the Agency should operate a centre, open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, to assist the Commission and the Member States with such emergency situations.

(21) The Union is facing new geopolitical challenges, resulting in additional threats to maritime safety and the marine environment. The Agency’s existing capacities for providing maritime situational awareness, including surveillance of ships’ movements, should support coastal Member States through, inter alia, the monitoring and notification of suspicious ship-to-ship transfers and incidents of illegally interfering with, switching off or otherwise disabling of the shipborne automatic identification system (AIS), and facilitating the exchange of information based on the Union maritime information and exchange system (SafeSeaNet), established under Directive 2002/59/EC, which enables the receipt, storage, retrieval and exchange of information for the purposes of maritime safety, port and maritime security, marine environment protection and the efficiency of maritime traffic and maritime transport. This would support coastal Member States to address the challenges posed by the ‘dark fleet’ or ‘shadow fleet’, as defined in IMO Assembly Resolution A.1192(33) adopted on 6 December 2023.

(22) As part of the Agency’s task of providing maritime situational awareness and analytical data, it should assist Member States, the Commission and other Union bodies, as appropriate, in monitoring ship movements, including for ships using technologies with advanced automation, and hazards to navigation. Such hazards to navigation, which can also have an environmental impact, could include, for example, containers lost and drifting at sea, as well as larger pieces of lost or discarded fishing gear.

(23) Digitalisation of data is part of technological progress in the area of data collection and communication with a view to helping to bring down costs and making efficient use of human resources. The deployment and operation of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) and related digital and technological developments provide a wide range of new opportunities in terms of data collection and management of integrated systems. This creates opportunities for the potential digitalisation, automation and standardisation of several processes, which would contribute to the safety, security, sustainability and efficiency of maritime operations, including surveillance mechanisms, at Union level, reducing in parallel the administrative burden to the Member States. In that regard, the Agency should, inter alia, facilitate and promote the use of electronic certificates, the collection, recording and evaluation of technical data, and the systematic exploitation of existing databases, including their cross-fertilisation through the use of innovative IT and artificial intelligence tools. The Agency could also contribute to the maritime domain of the common European mobility data space, with the aim of reducing administrative burden on Member States. In that work, the Agency should take into account the need for any tool or system to be user-friendly and interoperable with existing technical solutions in order not to create unnecessary costs for Member States or industry.

(24) In order to properly carry out the tasks entrusted to the Agency, it is appropriate that its officials carry out visits to the Member States in order to monitor the overall functioning of the Union maritime safety and pollution prevention system. The Agency should also carry out inspections in order to assist the Commission in the assessment of the effective implementation of Union law.