103
1 INTRODUCTION
The recreational craft industry covers boats of a
certain length designed for sports and leisure
purposes. These are high‐value and very movable
products, intended mainly for end consumers and
with a relatively long life‐cycle, which means that
they are often on the market for a long ti
me. The
recreationalcraftindustryhasattractedtheinterestof
theEuropeanUnion(EU)Commissionbecauseofits
impact on the environment and its economic
significance in the European Union. To implement
EU‐wideinitiativesinthissector,theCommissionhas
legislatedonrecreationalcraft,whichareboatsofany
type, regardless of their mea
ns of propulsion,
between 2.5 and 24 metres hull length. This EU
legislation (Directive 94/25/EC, as amended by
Directive 2003/44/EC) includes a number of
exceptionsandderogations.
Statistical data shows that a large number of
maritimeaccidentsarerelatedtorecreationalcraftFor
instance, in Spain, more tha
n fifty percent of the
emergencies are related to pleasure boats at sea
(Walliseretal.,2004).Inordertopromotesustainable
development and decrease the number of
emergencies at sea, the European legislation on
recreational craft also introduced standard
requirementsregardingusersafety,aswellasexhaust
andnoiseemissions.Asaresult,thi
sEuropeanlegal
framework has removed disparities among Member
Comparison of Survival and Safety Requirements in
European Union for Recreational Craft Inspections.
A Spanish Case Study
J
.Torralbo&M.Castells
DepartmentofNauticalSciencesandEngineering,UniversitatPolitècnicadeCatalunya(UPC),BarcelonaTech,Spain
ABSTRACT:Statisticaldatashowsthatalargenumberofmaritimeaccidentsarerelatedtorecreationalcraft.
For instance, in Spain, more than fifty percent of the emergencies are related to pleasure boats at sea.
Recreational craft marketed in the EU must comply with harmonized technical safety and environmental
requirementsdefinedbyDirective94/
25/EC,asamendedin2003.On28December2013,thenewrecreational
craftdirective2013/53/EUwaspublishedintheOfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion. EUMemberStateshave
until18January2016toamendtheirnationallegislat
ionandtransposethenewdirective.Thecurrentdirective
94/25/ECasamendedbydirective2003/44/ECwillberepealedon18January2016,afterthefullapplicationof
thenewtext.Althoughthisdirective,thereisnotaclearcoordinationandequivalenceamongtheEUcountries
accordingtothesurvivalandsafetyequipmentcompulsoryforrecreationalcrafts.Thema
inpurposeofthis
paper is to analyze and compare the types of survey / inspections to be carried in pleasure craft (non‐
commercialuse),periodicityandrequiredsafetyequipmentinsomememberstatesoftheEuropeanUnion. A
casestudyofSpainispresented.Fromtheresultsobtained,wecanma
keclearthatintheEuropeanUnionthere
is a lack of coordination in this area and indicate the need to unify a common pattern in inspections and
survivalandsafetyrequirementsofrecreationalboatsintheEU.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 8
Number 1
March 2014
DOI:10.12716/1001.08.01.12
104
States, while facilitating free competition across the
Unionandtradewithforeigncountries.
Although Directive 94/25/EC establishes safety
issues,thereisalackofcoordinationandequivalence
amongtheEUcountriesaccordingtothesurvivaland
safetyequipmentcompulsoryforrecreationalcrafts.
2 CASESTUDY:SPAIN
With the approval of
the Spanish legislation (Real
Decreto 1434/1999), the government authorizes
collaborating entities perform the inspections and
surveys that must be submitted in pleasure craft
registered in Spain, regardless of the means of
propulsion. These entities can survey recreational
crafts with ahull lengthbetween 2.5 and 24
meters, designed and
aimed for recreational and
sportspurposes(list/registersixthandseventh), and
notallowedtoboardmorethan12passengers.
The ship’s register in Spain is done by a lists,
whichwillberegisteredallships, boatsandfloating
structures. The sixth list is intended for sporting or
recreational craft that are
operated for commercial
gain.Theseventh list isfornon‐profitpleasure craft
orfishingboatsunprofessional.
Allyachtshaveacertificateofseaworthiness.This
certificateisadocumentattestingthatthecraftisfitto
sail and in which is shown information such as the
name and port of
register of thevessel,its technical
featuresandnavigationarea.
Table1. Navigation areas based on distance of operation.
Source:OwnbasedonFOM/1144/2003
_______________________________________________
AreaDistanceofoperation
_______________________________________________
Area1 Unlimited
Area2 Upto60miles
Area3 Upto25miles
Area4 Upto12miles
Area5 Upto5miles
Area6 Upto2miles
Area7 Protectedwatersingeneral
_______________________________________________
2.1 TechnicalInspections
Certificateofseaworthinesshaveexpiry dateandits
validityisdeterminedbytheregistrationlist(sixthor
seventh), the length and the material of the hull.
Tables 2 and 3 detail the types of inspections to be
carried out in recreational boats according to the
registrationlist
andmaterialofthehull:
Table2.TypeoftechnicalinspectionsforList7
th
depending
onthelengthandhullmaterial.Source: Own,basedonRD
1434/1999
_______________________________________________
Inspection FrequencyList7
_______________________________________________
RegularEvery5years6‐24m
Intermediate Between2
nd
and3
rd
year 15‐24m
6‐24m/
woodenhall
Additional Incaseofrepairsormodifications
Extraordinary UnderrequestoftheMaritime
Administration
_______________________________________________
Table3.TypeoftechnicalinspectionsforList6
th
depending
on the length and hull material. Source: Own, based on
FOM/1144/2003
_______________________________________________
Inspection FrequencyList6
_______________________________________________
RegularEvery5years2.5‐24m
Intermediate Between2
nd
and3
rd
year6‐24m
Additional Incaseofrepairsormodifications
Extraordinary UnderrequestoftheMaritime
administration
_______________________________________________
It is important to note that boats that have less
than 6 metersinlength and registeredin the 7
th
list
should not perform periodic inspections and
certificate of seaworthiness will include the phrase
ʺNoExpiration.ʺ
Thecollaboratingentitiesofinspection(approved
by the Spanish government) can carry out periodic,
intermediate, additional and extraordinary
inspections.
Figure1.Hullinspectioninashipyard.Source:own
The periodic and intermediate inspection of the
boat must be performed in a shipyard (dry) and
floating.Theinspectionforboatslessthan7metersin
length can be only performed in a shipyard (dry),
provided that it’s possible to start the engine of the
boat.
According to the type of
boat (motor / sail), all
surveys are made considering the following points:
hullandequipment,engineandauxiliarymachinery,
mast and rigging, electrical installation, radio
communication equipment, survival and safety
equipment, fire extinguishing equipment, nautical
material, and navigation lights and anchoring
equipment.
Theownersand/oruserofrecreational
craftare
responsible for keeping up to date surveys and
inspections. Emphasize that the inspection aims to
ensure personal safety and preventing marine
pollutionaccidents.Therefore,itisofvitalimportance
tonavigatewithvalidcertificateofseaworthiness.In
additionto thesecurityissuesindicated, to have the
current certificate can
avoid the possibility of being
finedbytheadministration.
2.2 Compulsorysurvivalandsafetyequipment
Compulsory survival and safety equipment will be
determined by the navigation area of the boat. The