Government proposes new act on ship safety control

Government proposes new act on ship safety control

On 20 August 2026, the Government submitted to Parliament a new act on ship safety control. The new act would repeal the current Ship Safety Control Act and introduce national legislation implementing the ship safety control regulation of the European Union's so-called Maritime Safety Package.

The Ship Safety Control Act, originally enacted 30 years ago, requires revisions so that the structure of the Act, the regulatory entities and the authorisation provisions for lower-level statutes and regulations be clearer and more consistent than at present. The government proposal would re-enact the Ship Safety Control Act and amend the Act on the Enforcement of a Fine.

The legislative proposal would specify the current provisions on inspections of ro-ro passenger ships and high-speed passenger craft and on port state control of foreign ships. New provisions would be introduced concerning flag state inspections. In addition, the act would implement the updated Flag State Directive. Another new set of provisions in the proposal concerns other vessel safety inspections, for example of ships in domestic transport and inspections related to environmental protection in maritime transport.

Legislative proposal to implement the updated EU ship safety regulation

The government proposal would implement the amendments to the Flag State Directive and the Port State Control Directive included in the EU Maritime Safety Package. The purpose of the Flag State Directive is to ensure that Member States discharge their obligations as flag states more effectively. The amendments to the Flag State Directive would mean new monitoring and inspection duties to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.

The purpose of the Port State Control Directive is to improve the EU port state control regime by aligning it with other international regulations. The aim is to reduce the number of substandard vessels operating in waters under the jurisdiction of Member States.

What's next?

Parliament will begin to process the proposal with a referral debate in a plenary session. The proposal will then proceed to a committee reading. Following the committee report, the debate will continue in a plenary session.

The proposed acts are scheduled to enter into force on 6 July 2027.

Inquiries:

Katja Viertävä, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 612, [email protected]