MSC 69/5/3
4 The aviation chart made by private industry but based on official data is indeed a chart approved for the purpose of aeronautical navigation. All private aircraft, all airlines and most military aircraft navigate with charts produced with this procedure by commercial companies.
5 Furthermore, Italy would like to draw the Committee's attention to the fact that most Member States must comply with very specific laws on matters of antitrust such as the EC treaty and the GATT treaty, both of which forbid monopolies. In compliance with such antitrust treaties, laws which had set up monopolies have already been repealed (e.g. the monopoly of some Classification Societies on their national flag ships).
6 In the light of the above, SOLAS regulations which might either limit competition within the market, or restrict production, or prevent technical developments, or limit investments, could run the risk of not being ratified by Member. States who have national antitrust laws or who are members of the EEC or underwrites the GATT treaty. Such States are committed to neither enact nor maintain in force any measure contrary to antitrust laws.
Action envisaged
7 The NAV Sub-Committee, in preparing the draft text of the revised SOLAS chapter V, included requirements for nautical charts and publications in the draft regulations 2, 20 and 25 (contained in NAV 42/23/Add.1 and NAV 43/WP.4).
8 In the light of the considerations expressed in the above paragraphs 2 to 6, Italy is of the opinion that the text of the proposed regulations V/2, V/20 and V/25 would:
- undermine the Administration's capability of fulfilling its responsibility on safety of navigation, thus being an unnecessary and dangerous exception to the safety principles applied to all equipment; and
- create a series of implementation problems, from the legal point of view, to those Member States having antitrust laws.
9 Italy is well aware that the matter is currently under discussion within the NAV Sub-Committee and, in fact this document will also be submitted to NAV 44. However, given the paramount importance of this issue for the safety of navigation, we have deemed appropriate to draw the Committee's attention to this question so that the Committee can recommend NAV 44 to carefully and deeply consider this delicate matter.
Recommendations
10 Taking into account all the above, Italy brings to the attention of the Maritime Safety Committee the following proposals for amending draft regulations 2, 20 and 25 of revised SOLAS chapter V and resolution A.817(19) "Performance Standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS)".
I:/MSC/69/5-3.WPD
