1.16 Each Contracting Government has to ensure completion of a PFSA for each of the port facilities, located within its territory, serving ships engaged on international voyages.

The draft Regulation as modified by the Council will replace Council Regulation (EC) No 3051/95 and apply to all cargo and passenger ships flying the flag of a Member State, engaged on international and domestic voyages, and to all ships falling under the scope of the SOLAS Convention exclusively engaged on domestic voyages or operating to or from ports of Member States on a regular shipping service, with the exception of passenger ships operating less than 5 miles from the coastline.

- require mandatory port facility security plans and port facility security assessments for port serving ships engaged on international voyages by July 2004.

Council Directive 98/18/EC of 17 March 1998 introduces a uniform level of safety of life and property on new and existing passenger ships and high-speed passenger craft, when both categories of ships and craft are engaged on domestic voyages, and lays down procedures for negotiation at international level with a view to a harmonisation of the rules for passenger ships engaged on international voyages.

2. With respect to ships entitled to fly the flag of a Member State regularly engaged on near-coastal voyages off the coast of another Member State or of another Party to the STCW Convention, the Member State the flag of which a ship is entitled fo fly shall prescribe training, experience and certification requirements for seafarers serving on such ships at least equal to those of the Member State or the Party to the STCW Convention off the coast of which the ship is engaged, provided that they do not exceed the requirements of this Directive in respect of ships not engaged on near-coastal voyages.

My second question concerns the foreign crews who work on Canadian vessels on international voyages and the use of the Canadian flag on vessels on the high seas.