The European Commission has amended the European Marine Equipment Directive 96/98/EC. Annex A to the directive 96/98/EC is replaced by a new annex (Annex A1).
This new annex will apply as of 10 December 2011. There is an additional transition period of two years for products which are listed as ‘new item’ in column 1 of the new Annex A1, or when equipment has been transferred from Annex 2 to the new Annex A1 and they have been manufactured before 10 December 2011.
The amendment of the Marine Equipment Directive became necessary because the International Maritime Organisation and the European standardisation organisations have adopted standards, including detailed testing standards, for a number of items of equipment which were not listed in Directive 96/98/EC, but that were considered relevant.
The amendment is adopted by Commission Directive 2010/68/EU of 22 October 2010 and it is published in the Official Journal of 22 November 2010. Members can download it from our Library.