European shipowners and World Shipping Council (WSC) have called for the revision of the Reporting Formalities Directive (RFD) to improve the efficiency of maritime transport.
The European Commission is expected to publish a proposal for a revision of the RFD in early May 2018 that is intended to remedy the current costly, unharmonised and burdensome reporting requirements facing ships calling at EU ports.
“Current complex, repetitive and duplicative reporting requirements not only result in productivity losses for maritime carriers and their customers but also create unnecessary workload and stress for ship crews,” ECSA said.
The shipowners added that a genuine “European Single Window” is required that will enable the same data to be submitted in the same way for the same operations and processes in all EU ports.
ECSA and WSC have called on the EU Institutions to propose, agree and implement a new European reporting formalities framework that benefits maritime carriers and the wider EU economy.
The shipowners further said that the framework should be based on the following principles: the adoption of a ‘harmonised maximum list’ of data reporting requirements for cargo and vessels that is valid in every EU port, facilitate trade through a true European Maritime Single Window (EMSW), and the right framework for the submission, exchange and reuse of data.