On Tuesday, the Transport and Mobility Commission of the Spanish Congress, with 26 votes in favour, three against and eight abstentions, adopted a proposal of a non- legislative legislation tabled by the parliamentary group of the People's Party the objective of which is to improve the competitiveness of the Special Register of Ships and Shipping Companies of the Canary Islands (REC), vote that was welcomed ANAVE, the Spanish shipowners' association.

The proposal shows that over the last ten years, the tonnage of the of the Spanish fleet under a foreign flag is grew by +66% while that of the fleet under the flag decreased by -3% and that in 2022 none of the Newly built ships joined the fleet controlled by national shipowners has been registered in the REC, as they are all registered in other Registers of the Economic Area European, a trend - the proposal specifies - that has continued during the first months of 2023 and between January and August last year ten ships for almost 100 thousand gross tons are from the Special Register of Ships and Shipping Companies navigation of the Canary Islands to other Space Registries European Economic.

Highlighting that the recent evolution of the Spanish shipping companies demonstrate a clear and growing preference of national shipowners for other European Registers, the The proposal notes that if the technical and working conditions of the ECR comparable to those of the more competitiveness can be expected to be a substantial part of the fleet registered with EEA Registers would return under Spanish flag. It is estimated - the document specifies - that, in the short term period, this return could account for 40% of the ships registered in other European Registers, i.e. about 35 ships could return under the Spanish flag, amounting to more than one million GRT and about 1,200 direct jobs.

The proposal urges the government to take all measures necessary to standardise the qualification of commanders and Merchant Navy officers to comply with the provisions of the Law 31/1995, of 8 November on risk prevention professionals, also recognising the possibility that the practical training can be provided remotely, to establish a common interpretative criterion for all Member States urgently needs to be adopted labour inspectors to put an end to insecurity with regard to rules on seafarers' working time and rest periods, adapting it the reality of on-board work and ensuring all the guarantees for the worker, and to study the adoption of a specific contractual framework adapted to the reality of the operations shipping and shipping.

In addition, the proposal calls for simplification and the administrative procedure for the enrolment of foreign seafarers, to increase legal certainty the registration of non-EU seafarers on the vessels of the ECR and streamlining inspections under the Labour Convention concentrating them, as far as possible, in the Administration of the maritime maritime processes, in order to speed up the process and increase the efficacy.

The proposal also calls for more flexibility in the Nationality requirements of crews in accordance with with the regulations of neighbouring countries, to simplify and speed up the Mandatory medical examinations prior to boarding to provide solutions to the problems of certificates that are issued only by the General Management of the Merchant Navy, to reduce the bureaucracy associated with the use of medication on board and to streamline and facilitate general operation of the REC Register.

Pointing out that as of January 1, the number of ships under the national flag was less than the one hundred units, reaching an all-time low and placing itself at the 20-year-old levels in terms of gross tonnage, ANAVE noted that 'the rules and procedures of the REC are have become obsolete due to the application of new rules designed for the land-based industry that are difficult, if the not impossible, to be applied to work on board. The shortage of crews, along with the difficulties in recruiting non-EU seafarers or the advantages of registering new buildings in other European Union Registries - ha specified the Spanish Shipowners' Association - are some of the reasons that have led to this historic decline."