ICOMIA Update June 2021

The ICOMIA Update is a member bulletin, please share with your colleagues and members.

From the desk of ICOMIA President

It was fabulous to see so many members at the recently held Annual General Meeting. The AGM is a constitutional obligation where ICOMIA reports back to its members over its finances and confirms its Committees. Beyond the constitutional obligation, Marine Industry Associations come together as a community and discuss relevant topics of interest to all of our associations and members.

From the AGM decisions, I’d like to remind everyone that the position of vice-chair of the sustainability committee is open and interested members should consider becoming more involved. Taking a leadership role in an ICOMIA Committee is an opportunity for a member to proactively shape the discussions. From my own experience, I can assure you that bringing in personal commitment will help you get more benefits from being an ICOMIA member. We do expect environmental topics to be given significant attention in the future and there is great potential to shape the work of this important committee, leading the industry in finding a response to some major challenges ahead.

Finally, let me use this note as an opportunity to thank you for your trust in confirming me for another year as President, together with the Vice Presidents and the rest of the Executive Committee, we are putting a great degree of time and commitment into how ICOMIA operates to ensure it delivers the best possible benefits to its members. I am personally regularly in touch with Udo and Peter, our Honorary Treasurer, to ensure we are making the right decisions for ICOMIA’s future.

Sara Anghel

In advance of the upcoming EU - US summit in Brussels, 113 organisations have signed a petition to reiterate a call for the permanent removal of tariffs on sectors unrelated to the ongoing transatlantic trade disputes.

The transatlantic relationship is of enormous economic importance to the boating sector, which as a result has requested an advance notice that the tariffs will not return, even if there is a need for additional time to negotiate, to account for shipping times between the EU and the US.

Following close cooperation with the European Boating Industry (EBI), European Boating Association (EBA), British Marine (BM), and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) in providing clarification on the various VAT payable scenarios applicable for second-hand craft sales between Great Britain and EU 27 we can confirm that the following documentation, in absence of a formal export declaration, will likely be required in order to apply for Returned Goods Relief (Article 203, UCC).

Suggested examples of evidence issued by a third party with the vessel registration number, date and place shown:

• Mooring / berthing receipt/storage receipt
• Fuel / repair invoices that reference the vessel and the dates/location
• Registration documents
• Bills of Sale (indicating location at the time a vessel changed ownership)
• Customs / border control documents
• Logbook / GPS / tracking recordings

The VOC Solvents Emissions Directive is the main policy instrument for the reduction of industrial emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the European Union. 

Its effect on the Recreational Marine and Superyacht Industry includes:

• Complying with VOC thresholds, and measuring of solvent emissions levels

• Environmental permit requirements, which are outlined in reference documents describing best available practices

• Measuring emission levels of Substances, Priority Substances and Priority Hazardous Substances

Companies which emit more than 5 tonnes of VOC per year are required to report their emissions.

Member States are obliged to report to the Commission periodically on the implementation of the VOC Solvents Emissions Directive. There has been a lack of implementation of the Solvents Emissions Directive in some EU countries, in which the use of solvents is now under higher scrutiny.

To aid the industry in meeting its legal requirements, ICOMIA has issued the Solvents Emissions Recording Tool at the time of the first publication of the SED. It is a free and simple-to-use tool which has been developed to assist Marine Industry Associations and their members to measure VOCs and check if a company and/or yard are in compliance with solvent emissions targets and levels. The yards and boatbuilders can use the tool for important production management information.

One of the requirements of the RCD (Directive 2013/53/EU) is that each craft, engine or component should be provided with an owner’s manual, "in a language or languages which can be easily understood by consumers and other end users, as determined by the Member State concerned".

ICOMIA has engaged with Market Surveillance authorities in EU and EEA countries who have been able to confirm the languages they recognise as meeting this requirement as well as the reference in their National Regulations for recreational small craft.

The current list of languages can be found in the manual below. We are aware that some countries are not represented, the list will be updated as soon as we receive additional submissions.

European New Approach Directives, such as the RCD, define essential safety and environmental requirements that must be met by manufacturers in order to allow marine recreational craft, engines, PWC and components to be placed on the EU/EEA market.

ISO TC 188 Small craft standards and the parts thereof that specifically support the requirements in the RCD are published as European (EN) standards by the European Standards Organisation CEN, and their references published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

This process of publication in the OJEU is referred to as ‘harmonisation’. Using a harmonised standard, which still remains voluntary, has the clear benefit of providing a presumption of conformity for certain legal requirements and gives the manufacturer and conformity assessment or ‘Notified’ bodies assurance that they will be in full compliance with the necessary essential requirements in the RCD.

This reference appears in a dedicated Annex (typically called Annex ‘ZA’) of the relevant EN standard.

In order to have an independent advisory process for technical standardisation the Commission has contracted HAS Consultants to assess both the draft standard when under development as well as the wording in the Annex ZA.

Due to certain legal challenges within the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has confirmed that harmonised standards form part of EU law, these assessments have become more onerous and the introduction of additional requirements such as the dating of normative references has led to extended delays in getting certain critical small craft standards harmonised. The situation has been further exacerbated by the recent news that the HAS Consultants are no longer able to attend working group meetings held virtually within ISO TC 188 and ICOMIA has expressed its concern (along with many other sectors) to the EU Commission on the potential this has to cause further delays and backlogs in getting standards harmonised.

Since December 2018 the references of harmonised standards are published in, as well as withdrawn from the OJEU by means of a separate Commission Implementing Decision. These Decisions as well as a consolidated list of all the harmonised standards are published and available for download here.

ICOMIA supports SIS, the Swedish Standards Institute in running the ISO TC 188 Secretariat and is appreciative of the number of recreational craft experts globally who voluntarily contribute their time towards the development and revision of new and existing standards.