Provincie Friesland
PERSBERICHT
Nummer: 35
Datum: 19-02-03
Brandbrief waddenprovincies aan regering over scheepsveiligheid op noordzee en waddenzee
De drie Nederlandse Waddenprovincies (Fryslân, Groningen en Noord-Holland) willen dat de Nederlandse Regering direct actie onderneemt om de scheepsveiligheid op de Noordzee en de Waddenzee te verbeteren. Er zijn hierover vele internationale afspraken gemaakt. In de praktijk blijkt echter dat de politieke besluitvaardigheid ontbreekt om deze afspraken ook in de praktijk te brengen. Bij een concrete ramp, zoals het vergaan van de olietanker "Prestige", vorig jaar voor de Spaanse kust, worden de gemaakte afspraken naar voren gehaald en hier en daar aangescherpt. Enige tijd na zo'n ramp blijkt de aandacht af te nemen en wordt het tempo van besluitvorming traag en stroperig. Dit mag niet gebeuren. Vooral ook niet nu door de oorlog in Tsjetsjenië de Russische olietransporten zich hebben verplaatst naar de Noordzee.
Een brief over dit onderwerp werd vorige week door de Waddenprovincies, samen met enkele Deense en Duitse Waddenregio's, gezonden aan de Regeringsleiders van Denemarken, Duitsland en Nederland. De Waddenregio's werken samen in de Inter-Regional Waddensea Co-operation (IRWC). In de IRWC-vergadering van 6 en 7 februari jl te Heide (Duitsland) was een belangrijk agendapunt het thema "veiligheid op zee". Diverse inleiders informeerden de IRWC over ontwikkelingen in de scheepvaart, oorzaken van scheepsrampen en noodzakelijke maatregelen. Naar aanleiding van de discussie besloot de IRWC om een brandbrief te zenden aan de Regeringsleiders van Denemarken, Duitsland en Nederland.
De drie Waddenlanden besloten onlangs om de Waddenzee aan te melden als PSSA-gebied (Particular Sensitive Sea Area = kwetsbaar gebied). Tegelijkertijd is er een gebrek aan politieke actie om bestaande afspraken over het vergroten van veiligheid op zee gewoon na te komen en dus uit te voeren. Het gaat hierbij bijvoorbeeld om het weren van enkelwandige olietankers in EU-havens en het intensiveren van veiligheidsinspecties van schepen. Het invoeren van nieuwe maatregelen terwijl al gemaakte afspraken niet worden nagekomen vindt de IRWC onbegrijpelijk en niet acceptabel.
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Noot voor de pers:
Meer informatie: Hein Tromp, secretaris Stuurgroep Waddenprovincies, 058-2925826.
Bijlage: brief d.d. 10 februari 2003 van de Inter-Regional Waddensea Co-operation.
To:
The Dutch Prime Minister
Mr. Jan-Peter Balkenende
The German Chancellor
Mr. Gerhard Schröder
The Danish Prime Minister
Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen
February 10th 2003
j.no.: 0-90-02-5-02
Increased shipping safety in and around the Wadden Sea
On the 6th and 7th of February 2003 the politicians responsible for the International Wadden Sea Co-operation (IRWC) met to discuss various matters, including shipping safety around the Wadden Sea.
The increased tanker traffic to and from the Baltic States into the North Sea implies an increased risk of more groundings and accidents. The most recent example is the grounding of the Bahama-tanker "Acushnet" on February 7th in Denmark and bearing in mind the "Prestige" that wrecked off the Spanish coast, the Inter-regional Wadden Sea Co-operation urges the governments to speed up the following decisions:
The decisions of the EU Council of Ministers of 6th December 2002 regarding increased shipping traffic off the coasts of Europe be expedited, in particular: That the proposal of the Commission for the phasing out of the use of "EU harbours" by single-hull tankers, to be adopted by the member countries by July 2003, should be brought into effect no later than 2005. That corresponding agreements with the new EU member states and other neighbouring countries should be drawn up before the end of 2003 and the ratification of the Port State Control should be increased. That the safety inspections of ships by the relevant public authorities should be significantly increased. This includes a better qualification of the corresponding persons. That the proposed increase in monitoring of ships' operations, with a view to preventing accidents or shipwrecks, should be implemented as soon as possible. That financial compensation for polluted coastal areas should be ensured before the end of 2003 - and the "COPE Fond", sponsored by the transporters and oil enterprises must be ratified as soon as possible. That shipping companies should be required to pay compensation in the event of oil pollution. To expedite the implementation of the decisions regarding increased safety requirements for shipping in and around the Wadden Sea taken at the 9th Trilateral Governmental Conference on the Protection of the Wadden Sea in 2001 through a co-ordinated initiative, which means: That the EU Directive (2002/59/EC) regarding the establishment of harbour reception facilities for operating and ship-generated waste should be uniformly implemented, along with the principle of "no extra charge" for ship-generated waste. That intensified co-ordinated aerial surveillance of the North Sea and the Wadden Sea should be introduced in 2003. That the intention of improving the DEN-GER netplan is welcomed That a Danish-German agreement on mutual towing assistance, like in the Netherlands, in distress in the North Sea and the Wadden Sea should be brought into effect before the end of 2003.
That compulsory pilotage in certain areas, due to the increased risk, and that the pilot should be the only one in charge of the operation including the legal responsibility.
The people who live on the Wadden Sea coasts find it incomprehensible and unacceptable that while the German, Danish and Dutch governments agreed last year to designate the Wadden Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), thereby highlighting the global importance and vulnerability of the area, there seems to be a lack of political action regarding the implementation of the decisions listed under point 2. It is even less comprehensible that the German and Danish governments have still not taken up the initiative to enter an agreement regarding mutual assistance in the case of shipwrecks, in line with the existing agreement between the Netherlands and Germany.
Drawing lines on a sea chart is not enough.
As a consequence of this situation, the organisations and authorities responsible for the Wadden Sea wish to express their concern over the practice in place up to now, and demand that the time limit for the sailing of single-hull tankers off the coasts of Europe be significantly reduced, and that there should be compulsory pilotage in and around certain areas. It is most unreasonable that the Wadden Sea still has to live under the threat of a "ticking pollution bomb", with the risks this entails for the local economy of the loss of tourism and fishery which would result from a shipwreck and subsequent oil pollution.
On the other side of the Atlantic, such vessels have long been banned, as a response to the wreck of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska in 1989.
Therefore we invite the three governments to work towards the implementation of international subsidy schemes for the construction of double-hulled tankers in Europe, which would also give a welcome boost to the ailing shipbuilding industry and create more jobs.
Sincerely yours
Mr. Jens Andresen
Chairman of the IRWC
c.c. The Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS)
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