Eamon Ryan

The Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2021 provides for a number of amendments to the legislation that underpins the MCIB in response to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) last July.

The European court found that Ireland had not correctly implemented EU Directive 2009/18/EC, which establishes principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector, because of conflicts of interest with some Board members.

The bill will amend the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000 to provide for a revised Board composition for the MCIB based on a minimum of five and a maximum of seven members appointed by the minister of transport, having regard to a list of desired knowledge and expertise for Board members.

This will allow the minister to appoint new members to the Board and to fill existing vacancies. Other operational and technical revisions to the 2000 Act are also being made to support the functioning of the Board in areas such as tenure of office, the quorum for meetings, engagement of expertise and the notification of marine casualties to the Board.

Transport minister Eamon Ryan said: “The bill is being progressed to ensure the continued independent functioning of the MCIB in the immediate term as the marine investigative body in the State and to meet international and EU requirements to have an independent marine casualty investigative body in place.”

Separate to the bill, the Department of Transport is reviewing organisational structures for marine casualty investigation in Ireland which it said may lead to further legislative change.