With a billion tonnes of oil shipped along the European Union's coastlines each year, the chances of a repeat of the 1999 disaster remain high given lax controls and the murky way the industry has long been run.

The aim of the EU's executive arm is to improve current rules, like those on obligatory inspections which are often badly applied in the EU, and complement them so they keep up with an evolving industry.

According to commission figures, the European fleet makes up a quarter of the ships plying the world's seas since the EU expanded to 25 members last year, bringing on board major shipping nations Cyprus and Malta.

Around 75 percent of the EU's exports and imports, in terms of volume, are carried out by sea -- or around 45 percent in terms of value.

Europe's maritime transporters estimate their share of the world market at 46 percent and say that the world's three biggest transporters, all of them European, will control more than a third of the global trade in a few years.

At the moment, EU member states are only obliged to inspect 25 percent of the ships docking at their ports. Some countries, citing lack of time or staff, check only "easy vessels", usually new and in good shape, to meet their quotas.

The commission's goal is to try to inspect them all, with a special focus on ships carrying dangerous cargo or vessels flying flags of convenience out of countries whose regulations are considered a risk to shipping.

The second part of the package, to be unveiled by transport commissioner Jacques Barrot, is aimed at trying to increase the competitivity of Europe's fleet, by reducing waiting times in ports for "quality" vessels.

Other elements include the careful tracking of maritime traffic, including a request that member states establish safe areas to where vessels in trouble will be able to seek refuge or be taken.

The damaged Liberian-flagged ship Prestige tried to approach the northwest Spanish coast three years ago but was forced out to sea by warships, only to break up and spew out tens of thousands of tonnes of oil.

Given the costs incurred by such incidents, the commission will propose measures aimed at obliging shipping companies to have insurance that will cover the damage caused to third parties as well as the environment.

It also wants to boost controls of classification societies, which supply information on the structural and mechanical fitness of ships.

The commission's previous packages -- Erika I and II -- were adopted in 2000 and already had elements focused on such societies and improving controls at Europe's ports.

On December 12, 1999 the Maltese registered tanker Erika broke in two off the coast of Brittany, France, whilst carrying approximately 30 000 tons of heavy fuel oil. Some 19 800 tons were spilled. Malta was not an EU member at the time.

For the last two years, no single-hulled oil tanker has been allowed access to EU ports, and old single-hulled ships transporting oil, like Erika or Prestige, have been banned from approaching the bloc's coasts since April 4.

However questions remain over whether double hulls are a real solution and could have prevented the vessels spilling their toxic cargo into the sea.

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