Council Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86 of 22 September 1986 defining characteristics for fishing vessels

[Text valid from 29-12-1994 to 20-07-2017] [Regulation repealed as of 20-07-2017]

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2930/86

of 22 September 1986

defining characteristics for fishing vessels

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ( 2 ),

Whereas, in the framework of the common fisheries policy, reference is made to the characteristics of fishing vessels, such as length, breadth, tonnage, date of entry into service and engine power;

Whereas it is essential that identical rules for determining the characteristics of fishing vessels should be used in order to unify the conditions for pursuit of the activity in the Community;

Whereas the definitions decided upon should reflect as much as possible the definitions of vessel characteristics at present applied in the Member States; whereas Community action in this field should therefore be based upon initiatives already taken by specialist international organizations;

Whereas the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels (1977), drawn up under the aegis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has already been ratified by several Member States and should be ratified by the others, according to recommendation 80/907/EEC ( 3 );

Whereas the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, drawn up in London in 1969 under the aegis of the said organization, has already been ratified by all Member States except for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Portuguese Republic;

Whereas the International Organization for Standardization has drawn up standards on internal combustion engines which are already widely applied in Member States,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

General Provision

The definitions of characteristics of fishing vessels adopted by this Regulation shall apply to all Community rules concerning fisheries.

Article 2

Length

1. The length of a vessel shall be the length overall, defined as the distance in a straight line between the foremost point of the bow and the aftermost point of the stern.

For the purposes of this definition:

(a) the bow shall be taken to include the watertight hull structure, forecastle, stem and forward bulwark, if fitted, but shall exclude bowsprits and safety rails;

(b) the stern shall be taken to include the watertight hull structure, transom, poop, trawl ramp and bulwark, but shall exclude safety rails, bumkins, propulsion machinery, rudders and steering gear, and divers' ladders and platforms.

The length overall shall be measured in metres with an accuracy of two decimals.

2. When the length between perpendiculars is mentioned in Community legislation, it shall be defined as the distance measured between the forward and the after perpendiculars as defined by the International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels.

The length between perpendiculars shall be measured in metres with an accuracy of two decimals.

Article 3

Breadth

The breadth of a vessel shall be the maximum breadth as defined in Annex I to the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, hereinafter referred to as the ‘1969 Convention’.

The overall breadth shall be measured in metres with an accuracy of two decimals.

Article 4

Tonnage

(a) The tonnage of a fishing vessel shall be gross tonnage as specified in Annex I to the 1969 Convention.

(b) The gross tonnage of all new fishing vessels with an overall length equal to, or greater than, 15 metres and the keel of which is laid on or after 18 July 1994 shall be measured as specified in Annex I to the 1969 Convention.

(c) The gross tonnage of new and existing fishing vessels with an overall length of less than 15 metres shall be measured in accordance with the formula set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

(d) The gross tonnage of all existing vessels equal to, or greater than, 24 metres in length between perpendiculars shall be remeasured in accordance with Annex I to the 1969 Convention before 18 July 1994.

In the case of vessels in this category which do not engage in international voyages within the meaning of the 1969 Convention and which are consequently exempt from the provisions of that Convention, the deadline shall be postponed until 31 December 1994.

(e) Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, the gross tonnage of existing vessels with an overall length equal to, or greater than, 15 metres and less than 24 metres between perpendiculars may be estimated in accordance with the methodology set out in the Annex to this Regulation in circumstances where the Commission considers these values to be sufficiently accurate.

Member States shall, however, measure tonnage of vessels in this category in accordance with Annex I to the 1969 Convention in the following circumstances:

— at the request of the vessel owner,

— on application by a vessel owner, in respect of his vessel, to participate in any scheme where Community financial aid is payable, where such aid depends on the tonnage of the vessel. Community aid granted pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 3699/93 of 21 December 1993 laying down the criteria and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries and aquaculture sector for the processing and marketing of its products ( 4 ) will, however, be implemented in accordance with the provisions in force of that Regulation. Until 1 January 2004, reference to the tonnage unit expressed as GRT may be maintained in the implementation of aid schemes concerning Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No 3699/93, provided that the data relating to that unit of measurement have been notified to the Commission by 18 July 1994 under the procedures covered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 109/94 of 19 January 1994 concerning the fishing vessel register of the Community ( 5 )

— where alterations or modifications to the vessel characteristics are deemed by the competent authority of the Member State to be a substantial variation of the existing tonnage.

Member States will ensure that all remaining vessels in this category are remeasured before 1 January 2004 in accordance with Annex I to the 1969 Convention.

2. When net tonnage is mentioned in Community rules it shall be defined as specified in the said Annex I.

Article 5

Engine power

1. The engine power shall be the total of the maximum continuous power which can be obtained at the flywheel of each engine and which can, by mechanical, electrical, hydraulic or other means, be applied to vessel propulsion. However, where a gearbox is incorporated into the engine, the power shall be measured at the gearbox output flange.

No deduction shall be made in respect of auxiliary machines driven by the engine.

The unit in which engine power is expressed shall be the kilowatt (KW).

2. The continuous engine power shall be determined in accordance with the requirements adopted by the International Organization for Standardization in its recommended International Standard ISO 3046/1, 2nd edition, October 1981.

3. The amendments necessary for adapting the requirements provided for in paragraph 2 to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 170/83 ( 6 )

Article 6

Date of entry into service

The date of entry into service shall be the date of first issue of an official safety certificate.

If an official safety certificate is not issued, the date of entry into service shall be the date of first entry in an official register of fishing vessels.

However, in the case of fishing vessels which entered service before the date on which this Regulation comes into force, the date of entry into service shall be the date of first entry in an official register of fishing vessels.

Article 7

Final provisions

1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

2. However, Articles 2, 3, 4 and 5 shall be applicable to the characteristics of vessels which entered into service before the date on which this Regulation comes into force only as from 18 July 1994, except that they shall apply to characteristics of such vessels modified between the date of entry into force of this Regulation and 18 July 1994.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX

New vessels < 15 metres overall length

The gross tonnage of new fishing vessels of overall length less than 15 metres is defined as:

GT = K1 · V

where: K1 = 0,2 + 0,02 log10 V

and V is the volume, given by:

V = a1 (Loa · B1 · T1)

where:

Loa = length overall (Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 2930/86]

B1 = breadth in metres according to the 1969 Convention

T1 = depth in metres according to the 1969 Convention

a1 = a function of Loa

Existing vessels < 15 metres overall length

The gross tonnage of existing fishing vessels of overall length less than 15 metres is defined as:

GT = K1 · V

where V is volume, given by:

V = a2 (Loa · B1 · T1)

where:

B1 = breadth in metres

T1 = depth in metres

a2 = a function of Loa

Vessels 15 metres overall length — 24 metres length between perpendiculars

The gross tonnage of vessels of overall length equal to, or greater than, 15 metres and of length between perpendiculars less than 24 metres is defined as:

GT = K1 · V

where V is the total enclosed volume as defined by the 1969 Convention.

For existing vessels, V may be provisionally estimated by the formula:

V = a3 (Loa · B1 · T1)

where:

a3 = a function of Loa, B1, T1 and year of construction.

The function a1, a2, and a3 will be fixed on the basis of statistical analyses of pooled representative samples of the fleets of the Member States. These will be specified together with definitions of the dimensions B1 and T1 and with detailed rules for the application of the formulae in a Decision of the Commission.

( 1 ) OJ No C 356, 31. 12. 1985, p. 64.

( 2 ) OJ No C 88, 14. 4. 1986, p. 103.

( 3 ) OJ No L 259, 2. 10. 1980, p. 29.

( 4 ) OJ No L 346, 31. 12. 1993, p.1.

( 5 ) OJ No L 19, 22. 1. 1994, p. 5.

( 6 ) OJ No L 24, 27. 1. 1983, p. 1.