The Vice-President Siim Kallas, European Commissioner for Transport wants to that the currently ongoing review of EU passenger ship safety legislation take fully into account any lessons to be learnt from the Costa Concordia tragedy. He also called upon Member States to ratify without delay the latest update of the International Convention for liability of carriers by sea and the compensation of passengers in case of accidents (Athens Convention).

The European Commission will take into account the lessons learnt from the Costa Concordia tragedy on the current ongoing review of EU passenger ship safety legislation. This announcement was made by Vice-President and European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas, who has also called upon Member States to ratify without delay the latest update of the International Convention for liability of carriers by sea and the compensation of passengers in case of accidents (Athens Convention). He recalled that specific EU legislation based on this Convention will enter into force at the end of 2012. New rules to enhance and improve the safety performance of ships were already adopted by the European Commission on 13 September 2010.

In particular, the review will prioritise the issues of design and stability of passenger ships, technological developments in the sector, crew training and safe operation, including emergency evacuation procedures. Ship design and operation of ships continue to evolve significantly. For this reason, the Commission has been working, since 2010, on a review of EU legislation on passenger ships to ensure it keeps pace with the latest evolution in design, operational procedures and technology used in this sector.

The European Commission services and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) are in regular close contact with the Italian authorities to follow and accompany as necessary the rescue and investigation operations on the Costa Concordia accident. Investigation results will need to be made available at the latest within one year and to be shared with EU and Member States. With regard to possible oil spill risks, EMSA can activate at the request of a concerned Member state anti-pollution means at short notice.