IRELAND has signed an agreement with other north western European countries to improve safety standards on roll on/roll off ferries.
The agreement applies to construction standards for ro/ro ferries which will enhance the vessels' safety should water enter the car deck.
All vessels will have to comply by October 2002. Ro/ro ferries flying the Irish flag are expected to comply well ahead of the deadline.
The Minister for the Marine, Mr Barrett, who signed the agreement, said it provided for the highest possible safety standards on passenger vessels and he had ensured that Ireland would comply at the earliest opportunity.
Ireland was instrumental in developing the new standards and in securing international agreement on these measures", Mr Barrett said. He would continue to promote the safety agenda during his presidency of the EU Maritime Transport Council.
Over the next six months the council will develop a directive on fishing vessel safety, better and safer reporting systems for the carriage of nuclear material, a new regime for registering passengers on ro/ro ferries and a comprehensive maritime strategy focusing on safety, environmental protection and training.
The International Maritime Organisation introduced new standards following the Estonia disaster in September 1994 in the Baltic Sea in which over 900 people died, and the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast in March 1987 in which 193 people died.