Marine Equipment Directive

96/98/EC as amended

On February 27, 2004 the European Community (EC) and the United States (US) signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on marine equipment, under which designated equipment certified as complying with the Marine Equipment Directive (MED) 96/98/EC, as amended to date, will be accepted for sale in the US without the need for additional testing or certification and vice-versa.

This agreement, in force since July 1, 2004, aims to simplify matters for manufacturers that wish to have both MED certification and US Coast Guard (USCG) type approval, allowing them to reach multiple markets on the basis of compliance with one set of regulatory requirements instead of multiple ones, leading to a reduction of costs in terms of testing and certification.

At present the agreement covers 43 product types of marine equipment including life saving, fire protection and navigation equipment, but it contemplates expanding the scope of product types in the future based on results of international regulatory co-operation. Those product types not mutually recognised under the agreement will still require separate USCG approval to be placed onboard US flag ships.

The basis for the EC-US MRA is the 3rd amendment of the MED, i.e. Commission Directive 2002/75/EC, and therefore only products which have been approved in compliance with this amendment fall under the agreement.

Note that, while there will be no further certification requirements, equipment listed in the agreement that is certified and marked as complying with the MED when placed in the US market will have to be additionally marked with a USCG approval number, as required by the US legislation, without the need to carry out further conformity assessment. Details on USCG marking requirements can be found on Lloyds Register Verification Guidance Notes for Manufacturers: the MED and EC-US MRA.

For full details of products which are covered by the EC-US MRA, please choose one of the following: