S.I. No. 472/2024 - European Union (Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Maritime Transport) Regulations 2024

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 20th September, 2024.

CONTENTS

1. Citation

2. Interpretation

3. Administering authority

4. Competent authority

5. Accreditation body

6. Appointment of inspectors

7. Powers of inspectors

8. Expulsion orders

9. Appeal against expulsion order

10. Expulsion orders in other Member States

11. Detention of a Ship

12. Appeal against detention of ship

13. Service of documents

14. Offences

15. Revocation

I, EAMON RYAN, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015¹ , as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2071² , Regulation (EU) 2023/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 10 May 2023³ and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2776 of 12 October 2023⁴ hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Maritime Transport) Regulations 2024.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“administering authority responsible” means the body designated as the administering authority responsible under Regulation 3

“competent authority” means the body designated as the competent authority under Regulation 4;

Directive 2003/87/EC means Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003⁵ establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC, as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004⁶ , Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008⁷ , Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009⁸ , Directive (EU) 2018/410 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2018⁹ , Directive (EU) 2023/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023¹⁰ , and Directive (EU) 2023/959 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023¹¹ ;

“expulsion order” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 8;

“inspector” means –

(a) a person appointed under Regulation 6, or

(b) a person appointed as a surveyor of ships under section 724 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 ;

“Irish ship” means a ship within the meaning of section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 (No. 29 of 1955);

“master”, in relation to a ship, means the person having, for the time being, the command or charge of the ship;

“Minister” means Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications;

“owner”, in relation to a ship, means the person registered in the State, as its owner or, if no person is so registered, the person who owns the ship, and includes any part owner, charterer, manager or operator of the ship;

“Regulation 2015/757” means Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015¹ , as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2071² and Regulation (EU) 2023/957³ of the European Parliament and of the Council, on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport and amending Directive 2009/16/EC¹² and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2776 of 12 October 2023⁴ ;

“shipping company” means the shipowner or any other organisation or person, such as the manager or the bareboat charterer, that has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the ship from the shipowner and that, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to take over all the duties and responsibilities imposed by the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 336/2006¹³ of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations, and which is also used in Regulation 2015/757 has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in Regulation 2015/757.

Administering authority

3. The Environmental Protection Agency is designated as the administering authority responsible in the State, as defined by Article 3gf of Directive 2003/87/EC⁵ , for the purposes of Regulation 2015/757¹ and these Regulations.

Competent authority

4. The Environmental Protection Agency is designated as the competent authority in the State for the purposes of Regulation 2015/757¹ and these Regulations.

Accreditation body

5. The Irish National Accreditation Board is designated as the national accreditation body in the State for the purposes of Regulation 2015/757¹ .

Appointment of inspectors

6. (1) The Minister may appoint a person as an inspector for the purposes of Regulation 2015/757¹ and these Regulations and may revoke any such appointment.

(2) The Minister shall furnish an inspector with a warrant of his or her appointment and, when exercising a power conferred by these Regulations, the inspector shall, if requested by a person affected, produce the warrant or a copy of it to that person.

(3) A person who was an inspector, appointed under S.I. 476/2017 , immediately before the date on which these Regulations come into operation shall continue as an inspector as if appointed pursuant to these Regulations.

Powers of inspectors

7. (1) An inspector may do all such things as he or she considers necessary for the purpose of ensuring compliance with Regulation 2015/757¹ and these Regulations.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1) and any other provision of these Regulations, an inspector may do any or all of the following:

(a) at any time, go on board any ship while the ship is in the State;

(b) inspect any document on board the ship and require any person on board to produce to him or her any document in his or her possession or control or to make return to any enquiry;

(d) copy any entry in any relevant document or record and require the person by whom the document or record is kept to certify the copy as a true copy of the entry;

(e) copy any entry in any log book of the ship or other record on the ship and require the owner or master of the ship to certify the copy as a true copy of the entry.

(3) For the purpose of boarding a ship in order to exercise his or her functions under these Regulations, an inspector may require the owner or master of the ship to take such measures and provide such facilities as may be necessary to enable him or her to go on board.

(4) An inspector may, for the purposes of these Regulations, require the owner or master of a ship to be and remain on board whilst he or she is carrying out an inspection and the inspector may require that person to answer any questions or to furnish any information which may appear to the inspector to be necessary or relevant.

Expulsion orders

8. (1) Where a ship fails to comply with the monitoring and reporting requirements in the circumstances set out in Article 20(3) of Regulation 2015/757¹ , the competent authority, having considered any observations from the shipping company and having exhausted all other enforcement measures available to them, shall inform the Department of Transport.

(2) The Department of Transport may, on the instruction of the competent authority, serve an order, (in this Regulation referred to as an ‘expulsion order’), on the shipping company, owner or master of the ship.

(3) An expulsion order shall direct the shipping company, owner or master of the ship to ensure that the ship leaves the port as soon as practicable and shall prohibit the ship from entering any other port in the State.

(4) An expulsion order shall take effect when the order is served under paragraph (2).

(5) The Department of Transport shall inform the person served with an expulsion order under paragraph (2) of the reasons for serving the order and of the right to bring an appeal under Regulation 9.

(6) Where an expulsion order is served under paragraph (2), the Department of Transport shall give notice to the following:

(a) the port authority concerned and all other port authorities in the State;

(b) the European Commission;

(d) the competent authorities of other Member States;

(e) the flag state concerned.

(7) The Department of Transport, on the instruction of the competent authority, shall by notice served on the shipping company, owner or master of the ship, withdraw the expulsion order if—

(a) proof of a valid document of compliance is furnished to the competent authority, or

(b) an appeal under Regulation 9 is allowed.

(8) As soon as practicable after an expulsion order has been withdrawn, the Department of Transport shall give notice to the bodies referred to in paragraph (6) of the withdrawal.

Appeal against expulsion order

9. (1) A shipping company, owner or master of a ship may appeal against an expulsion order served under Regulation 8(2) and such an appeal shall be made to the judge of the Circuit Court in whose circuit the port in which the ship was located on the date the expulsion order was served.

(2) A notice of an appeal shall contain a statement of the grounds on which the appeal is made and be made by written notice, which shall be lodged with the appropriate office of the Court within 7 working days of the date upon which the order concerned was served, unless the Court considers that there is good and sufficient reason for extending that period.

(3) A copy of the notice of appeal shall be given by the person who makes an appeal under this Regulation to the competent authority not less than 48 hours before the hearing of the appeal and the competent authority shall be entitled to appear, be heard and adduce evidence on the hearing of the appeal.

(4) An appeal under this Regulation shall not have the effect of suspending the operation of the expulsion order.

(5) On hearing the appeal, the Court may confirm the expulsion order, or allow the appeal and vacate the order.

(6) A decision of the Circuit Court on an appeal under this Regulation shall be final, save that, by leave of the Court an appeal from the decision shall lie to the High Court on a specified question of law.

Expulsion orders in other Member States

10. Where the competent authority is notified of the service or withdrawal of an expulsion order by the competent authority of another Member State, it shall without delay, instruct the Department of Transport to notify all port authorities in the State that such ship is to be refused access to ports in the State, or is no longer to be refused access, as the case may be.

Detention of a ship

11. (1) Where—

(a) an Irish ship is served with an expulsion order under Regulation 10 of these Regulations and returns to a port in the State, or

(b) an Irish ship fails to comply with the monitoring and reporting requirements for two or more consecutive reporting periods in the circumstances set out in Article 20(3) of Regulation 2015/757¹ and is located in a port in the State,

the Department of Transport, on the instructions of the competent authority, following consideration of observations made by the shipping company, may serve a notice of detention on the shipping company, owner or master of the ship, until the company concerned fulfils its monitoring and reporting obligations under Regulation 2015/757¹ .

(2) A notice of detention under (1) shall:

(a) state the grounds upon which the ship is detained;

(b) identify the provision of Regulation 2015/757¹ that has not been or is not being complied with;

(c) specify the action to be taken before the notice will be withdrawn, and where appropriate, the period within which that action shall be taken;

(d) inform the shipping company, owner or master of the right to appeal the notice in accordance with Regulation 12 of these Regulations and

(e) state that a failure to comply with the notice is an offence under Regulation 14 of these Regulations.

(3) Where a notice of detention is served under paragraph (1), the Department of Transport shall give notice to the following:

(a) the port authority concerned;

(b) the European Commission;

(d) the competent authorities of other Member States;

(4) The Department of Transport, on the instruction of the competent authority, shall by notice served on the shipping company, owner or master of the ship, withdraw the notice of detention if—

(a) proof of a valid document of compliance is furnished by the competent authority, or

(b) an appeal under Regulation 12 is allowed.

(5) As soon as practicable after a notice of detention has been withdrawn, the Department of Transport shall give notice to the persons referred to in paragraph (3) of the withdrawal.

(6) A Shipping Company or master of a ship who contravenes a notice of detention served on him or her commits an offence.

Appeal against detention of a ship

12. (1) A Shipping Company may appeal against a notice of detention served under Regulation 11 (1) and such an appeal shall be made to the judge of the Circuit Court in whose circuit the port in which the ship was located on the date the notice of detention was served.

(2) A notice of an appeal shall contain a statement of the grounds on which the appeal is made and be made by written notice, which shall be lodged with the appropriate office of the Court within 7 working days of the date upon which notice of detention was served, unless the Court considers that there is good and sufficient reason for extending that period.

(4) An appeal under this Regulation shall not have the effect of suspending the operation of the notice of detention.

(5) On hearing the appeal, the Court may confirm the notice of detention, or allow the appeal and vacate the order.

Service of documents

13. (1) A notice, order or other document that is required to be served on or given to a person by these Regulations shall be addressed to the person concerned by name, and may be so served on or given to the person in one of the following ways:

(a) by delivering it to the person;

(b) by leaving it at the address at which the person ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address;

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter to the address at which the person ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, to that address; or

(d) by electronic means, in a case in which the person has given notice in writing to the person serving or giving the notice or document concerned of his or her consent to the notice or document (or notices or documents of a class to which the notice or document belongs) being served on, or given to, him or her in that manner.

(2) For the purpose of this Regulation, a company within the meaning of the Companies Acts or the Companies Act 2014 shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office, and every other body corporate and every unincorporated body of persons shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its principal office or place of business.

(3) Where an opinion, finding, statement or decision of the competent authority is contained in a document which—

(a) purports to have been made by, or at the direction of the competent authority, and

(b) is produced in evidence by an officer of the competent authority in any proceedings,

such document shall be admissible in evidence and shall be evidence of any such opinion, finding, statement or decision in such proceedings without further proof.

Offences

14. (1) A person, being a shipping company, owner or master of a ship, who contravenes Article 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 of Regulation 2015/757¹ commits an offence.

(2) A person who—

(a) refuses or neglects to make any answer, or to give any return, or to produce any document to an inspector, or to make or subscribe to any declaration, or to certify a copy of any entry which the inspector is entitled to require;

(b) on being requested by an inspector to stop a ship for the purpose of enabling the inspector to board the ship in order to carry out an inspection, fails or neglects to bring the ship to a stop;

(d) being the owner or master of a ship required to stay on board by an inspector, fails to do so; or

(e) knowingly or recklessly submits information to an inspector that is false or misleading in a material respect,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €300,000.

(4) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary, or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in such capacity, that person shall, as well as the body corporate, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(5) Summary proceedings for an offence under these Regulations may be brought and prosecuted by the Agency.

Revocation

15. The European Union (Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Maritime Transport) Regulations 2017 ( S.I. No. 476 of 2017 ) are revoked.

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GIVEN under my Official Seal,

19 September, 2024.

EAMON RYAN,

Minister for the Environment,

Climate and Communications.

1 OJ. No. L 123, 19.05.2015, P.55

2 OJ. No. L 320, 26.11.2016, p1

3 OJ No. L 130, 16.5.2023, p. 105–114

4 OJ No. L 2776, 14.12.2023, p 1

5 OJ No. L 275, 25.10.2003, p.32

6 OJ No. L 338, 13.11.2004, p.18

7 OJ No. L 8, 13.1.2009, p.3

8 OJ No. L 140, 5.6.2009, p.63

9 OJ No. L 76, 19.3.2018, p.3

10 OJ No. L 130, 16.5.2023, p.115

11 OJ No. L 130, 16.5.2023, p130

1 OJ. No. L 123, 19.05.2015, P.55

2 OJ. No. L 320, 26.11.2016, p1

3 OJ No. L 130, 16.5.2023, p. 105–114

12 OJ No. L 131, 28.05.2009, P.57

4 OJ No. L 2776, 14.12.2023, p 1

13 OJ No. L. 64 4.3.2006, p.1

5 OJ No. L 275, 25.10.2003, p.32

1 OJ. No. L 123, 19.05.2015, P.55