Transport 

Judges

Cards project

Project title: "Strengthening Maritime Safety in Lithuania"

Country: Lithuania

Recipient authorities: Lithuanian Maritime Safety Administration (LMSA) in Klaipeda and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania in Vilnius

Project description:

The overall aim of the project is to assist the Lithuanian authorities in transposing and enforcing the acquis related to maritime safety. Particular attention is paid to the outstanding issues of Lithuanian legislation in relation to Community law. Also, new Commission proposals, following the accident of the oil tanker Prestige, are treated.

The project is implemented in Vilnius / Klaipeda and Copenhagen from June – November 2003, on the basis of a feasibility study, carried out by the European Institute in February 2003. It is divided into six components.

Component 1: “Strengthening Administrative Capacity for Drafting Legislation”

The component will strengthen the administrative capacity of LMSA when drafting national EU-legislation in the field of maritime safety and pollution prevention. The component is implemented as a quality audit and a seminar at LMSA.

Component 2: “The EU Maritime Negotiations and Co-operation Process”

The component includes a three-days seminar in Vilnius, aiming at transferring experience and knowledge of negotiation techniques and practices within EU-institutions, especially the Council and the Commission. As a part of the seminar, civil servants from the maritime administration and other ministries simulate a negotiation on a Commission proposal for a Council directive. The seminar also covers comitology procedures, which are expected to be widely used in the future adoption of the maritime Acquis.

For a general description of EU-negotiation seminars implemented by the European Institute, please click here

Component 3: “Port State Control and Flag State Control”

The aim of this component is to strengthen the general capacity of LMSA inspectors and in particular to ensure compliance with the safety requirements applicable to host “ro-ro” ferries and high-speed passenger crafts.

The component includes a seminar at LSPA in Klaipeda and a visit to Denmark, covering host state inspections.

Component 4: “Safety of Navigation in Lithuanian Waters”

The component shall contribute to securing safety of navigation at the approaches to the Port of Klaipeda, the Butinge oil terminal and other parts of the Lithuanian territorial waters.

More specifically, the component aims at transferring Danish experience of modern hydrographic surveying and experience on safety to mariners.

The component includes four study visits to Denmark:

·        One visit to the National Survey and Cadastra (Ministry of Environment) in Copenhagen providing staff from LMSA with a practical understanding of the use of IT-systems and the use of international hydrographic standards.

·        Two visits to the Royal Danish Administration of Navigation and Hydrography, (Ministry of Defence) for LMSA surveyors and experts from the hydrographic department. While the surveyors receive a demonstration of the coherent approach in modern surveying, the LMSA experts get practical experience using a hydrographic soundings database to be collected by their own surveying ship.

·        A visit to the Royal Danish Administration of Navigation and Hydrography in Copenhagen and Korsoer focusing on the Danish experience with maintaining lighthouses and radio beacons and secondly; correction and distribution of nautical publications and finally providing ‘Notice to Mariners’.

Component 5: “Fishing Vessels”

The component transfers knowledge and expertise from the Danish Maritime Authority regarding implementation of e.g. the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels (1993).

Component 6: Closing Seminar