Legal act: 
Directive 2013/53/EU

Consolidated act:
28/12/2013

Scope

This Directive shall apply to the following products:

1. recreational craft and partly completed recreational craft;
2. personal watercraft and partly completed personal watercraft;
3. components listed in Annex II when placed on the Union market separately, hereinafter referred to as ‘components’;
4. propulsion engines which are installed or specifically intended for installation on or in watercraft;
5. propulsion engines installed on or in watercraft that are subject to a major engine modification;
6. watercraft that are subject to major craft conversion.

This Directive shall not apply to the following products:

1. with regard to the design and construction requirements set out in Part A of Annex I:
   • watercraft intended solely for racing, including rowing racing boats and training rowing boats, labelled as such by the manufacturer;
   • canoes and kayaks designed to be propelled solely by human power, gondolas and pedalos;
   • surfboards designed solely to be propelled by wind and to be operated by a person or persons standing;
   • surfboards;
   • original historical watercraft and individual replicas thereof designed before 1950, built predominantly with the original materials and labelled as such by the manufacturer;
   • experimental watercraft, provided that they are not placed on the Union market;
   • watercraft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Union market during a period of five years from the putting into service of the watercraft;
   • watercraft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph 3, regardless of the number of passengers;
   • submersibles;
   • air cushion vehicles;
   • hydrofoils;
   • external combustion steam powered watercraft, fuelled by coal, coke, wood, oil or gas;
   • amphibious vehicles, i.e. wheeled or track-laying motor vehicles, which are able to operate both on water and on solid land;
2. with regard to exhaust emission requirements set out in Part B of Annex I:
   1. propulsion engines installed or specifically intended for installation on the following products:
      • watercraft intended solely for racing and labelled as such by the manufacturer;
      • experimental watercraft, provided that they are not placed on the Union market;
      • watercraft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph 3, regardless of the number of passengers;
      • submersibles;
      • air cushion vehicles;
      • hydrofoils;
      • amphibious vehicles, i.e. wheeled or track-laying motor vehicles, which are able to operate both on water and on solid land;
   2. original and individual replicas of historical propulsion engines, which are based on a pre-1950 design, not produced in series and fitted on watercraft referred to in points (v) or (vii) of point (a);
   3. propulsion engines built for own use provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Union market during a period of five years from the putting into service of the watercraft;
3. with regard to noise emission requirements referred to in Part C of Annex I:
   1. all watercraft referred to in point (b);
   2. watercraft built for own use, provided that they are notsubsequently placed on the Union market during a period of five years from the putting into service of the watercraft.

The fact that the same watercraft could also be used for charter or for sports and leisure training shall not prevent it being covered by this Directive when it is placed on the Union market for recreational purposes.

Definitions

Making available on the market’ means any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.

Placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the Union market.

Importer means any natural or legal person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market.

Distributor means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the market.

Withdrawal means any measure aimed at preventing a product in the supply chain from being made available on the market.

Market surveillance means the activities carried out and measures taken by public authorities to ensure that products comply with the applicable requirements set out in Union harmonisation legislation and do not endanger health, safety or any other aspect of public interest protection.

Article 15 - EU declaration of conformity and declaration in accordance with Annex III

1. The EU declaration of conformity shall state that the fulfilment of requirements specified in Article 4(1) and Annex I or those referred to in points (b) or (c) of Article 6(4) has been demonstrated.
2. The EU declaration of conformity shall have the model structure set out in Annex IV to this Directive, shall contain the elements specified in the relevant modules set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC as well as in Annex V to this Directive, and shall be continuously updated. It shall be translated into the language or languages required by the Member State on whose market the product is made available or put into service.
3. By drawing up the EU declaration of conformity, the manufacturer, private importer or the person adapting the engine referred to in points (b) and (c) of Article 6(4) shall assume responsibility for the compliance of the product.
4. The EU declaration of conformity referred to in paragraph 3 shall accompany the following products when they are made available on the market or put into service:
   1. watercraft;
   2. components when placed on the market separately;
   3. propulsion engines.
5. The declaration by the manufacturer or the importer set out in Annex III for partly completed watercraft shall contain the elements specified in that Annex and shall accompany partly completed watercraft. It shall be translated into the language or languages required by the Member State on whose market the product is made available.

Article 16 - General principles of the CE marking

The CE marking shall be subject to the general principles set out in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

Article 17 - Products subject to CE marking

1. The following products are subject to CE marking when they are made available on the market or put into service:
   1. watercraft;
   2. components;
   3. propulsion engines.
2. Member States shall presume that the products referred to in paragraph 1 bearing the CE marking comply with this Directive.

Article 18 - Rules and conditions for affixing the CE marking

1. The CE marking shall be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the products referred to in Article 17(1). In case of components, where that is not possible or not warranted on account of the size or nature of that product, it shall be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents. In the case of watercraft, the CE marking shall be affixed on the watercraft builder’s plate mounted separately from the watercraft identification number. In the case of a propulsion engine, the CE marking shall be affixed on the engine.
2. The CE marking shall be affixed before the product is placed on the market or put into service. The CE marking, and the identification number referred to in paragraph 3, may be followed by a pictogram or any other mark indicating a special risk or use.
3. The CE marking shall be followed by the identification number of the notified body, where that body is involved in the production control phase or in the post-construction assessment. The identification number of the notified body shall be affixed by the body itself or, under its instructions, by the manufacturer or his authorised representative, or by the person referred to in Article 19(2), (3) or (4).