Categorisation of sea areas and classes of passenger ships
Article 4
1
Sea areas are divided into the following categories:
‘ Area A ’ | means a sea area outside of areas B, C and D.
‘ Area B ’ | means a sea area, whose geographical coordinates are at no point more than 20 miles from the line of coast, corresponding to the medium tide height, but which is outside of areas C and D.
‘ Area C ’ | means a sea area, whose geographical coordinates are at any point no more than 5 miles from the line of coast, corresponding to the medium tide height, but outside of sea area D if any. Additionally the probability of the significant wave height exceeding 2,5 metres shall be smaller than 10 % for a period of one year for all-year-round operation, or for a specific period for seasonal operation, such as summer period operation.
‘ Area D ’ | means a sea area, whose geographical coordinates are at any point no more than 3 miles from the line of coast, corresponding to the medium tide height. Additionally the probability of the significant wave height exceeding 1,5 metres shall be smaller than 10 % for a period of one year for all-year-round operation, or for a specific period for seasonal operation, such as summer period operation.
2
Each Member State shall:
a
establish, and update when necessary, a list of the sea areas within its jurisdiction;
b
determine the inner border of the sea area closest to the line of its coast;
c
publish the list in a public database available on the internet site of the competent maritime authority;
d
notify to the Commission the location of such information, and when modifications are made to the list.
3
By way of derogation from the obligation to establish a list of sea areas, Greece may establish, and shall update when necessary, a list of sea routes covering the sea routes in Greece, using the corresponding criteria for categories set out in paragraph 1.
4
Passenger ships are divided into the following classes according to the sea area in which they may operate:
‘ Class A ’ | means a passenger ship engaged on domestic voyages in Areas A, B, C and D.
‘ Class B ’ | means a passenger ship engaged on domestic voyages in Areas B, C and D.
‘ Class C ’ | means a passenger ship engaged on domestic voyages in Areas C and D.
‘ Class D ’ | means a passenger ship engaged on domestic voyages in Area D.
5
For high-speed passenger craft the categories defined in Chapter 1 (1.4.10) and (1.4.11) of the 1994 High Speed Craft Code, or Chapter 1 (1.4.12) and (1.4.13) of the 2000 High-Speed Craft Code shall apply.
Substituted by Directive (EU) 2017/2108 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2017 amending Directive 2009/45/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger ships (Text with EEA relevance).