Article 4 — Tasks relating to maritime safety

1. The Agency shall monitor progress on the safety of maritime transport in the Union, conduct risk analyses on the basis of the available data and develop safety risk assessment models to identify safety challenges and risks. Every three years, the Agency shall present to the Commission a report on progress on maritime safety with possible technical recommendations that could be addressed at Union or international level, in particular in relation to potential safety risks stemming from the development, uptake and deployment of sustainable alternative sources of power for ships, including zero-emission technologies and on-shore power supply as defined in Regulation (EU) 2023/1805. 2. The Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States in the implementation of Directive 2009/21/EC. In particular, the Agency shall assist the Commission in organising, where appropriate and based on Member States’ requests for assistance, relevant training activities for flag State inspectors and flag State surveyors as referred to in Article 4c of that Directive. The Agency shall also assist the Commission in developing, maintaining and updating a digital interoperable portal in accordance with Article 6 of that Directive, as well as the ship information database in accordance with Article 6a of that Directive, and in establishing the electronic reporting tool referred to in Article 9b of that Directive and may provide the Commission with recommendations on the basis of the data thereby collected. The Agency shall assist the Commission in developing relevant tools and services to assist the Member States, upon their request, to fulfil their obligations pursuant to Directive 2009/21/EC. 3. The Agency shall assist the Commission in the development, maintenance and update of the inspection database provided for in Article 24 of Directive 2009/16/EC and shall develop, maintain and update the validation tool provided for in Article 24a of that Directive and support Member States. On the basis of the data collected in that database, the Agency shall assist the Commission in the analysis of the relevant information and the publication of information concerning ships and companies with low and very low performance pursuant to Directive 2009/16/EC. The Agency shall provide relevant tools and services to assist the Member States, upon their request, to fulfil their obligations pursuant to Directive 2009/16/EC. The Agency shall also assist the Commission in developing a professional training programme for port State control inspectors of the Member States, in cooperation with Member States and as agreed within the Paris MoU, as provided for in Article 22(7) of Directive 2009/16/EC. 4. The Agency shall assist the Commission in the development and maintenance of the European database for marine casualties provided for in Article 17 of Directive 2009/18/EC. On the basis of the data collected in that database, the Agency shall compile a yearly overview of marine casualties and incidents. The Agency shall, at the request of the marine safety investigation authorities of the Member States concerned, and assuming that no conflict of interest arises, provide operational support to those Member States in the conduct of their marine safety investigations. The Agency shall also carry out an analysis of marine safety investigation reports provided for in Directive 2009/18/EC with a view to identifying added value at Union level in terms of any relevant lessons to be drawn. The Agency shall provide regular training according to the needs of the marine safety investigation authorities of the Member States. 5. The Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States in the implementation of Council Directive 98/41/EC and of Directives 2003/25/EC and 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Agency shall assist the Commission, in particular, in establishing and maintaining a database of measures provided for in Article 9(4), seventh subparagraph, of Directive 2009/45/EC and Article 9(3), point (a), of Directive 98/41/EC and assist the Commission in the assessment of such measures. 6. The Agency shall facilitate the cooperation and the exchange of information between the Commission and the Member States for the assessment of the recognised organisations that carry out survey and certification tasks in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009. In particular, the Agency shall: (a) provide the Commission with an opinion on its assessment of the recognised organisations under Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009; (b) provide the Member States with appropriate information in the context of the visits and inspections conducted by the Agency to support the Commission’s assessment under Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 in order to support the monitoring of recognised organisations in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 2009/15/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council in support of the Member States in the discharge of their Union and international obligations as flag States; (c) provide the Commission with technical assistance on possible remedial measures or the imposition of fines to the recognised organisations in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 and the corresponding advance notice requirements. For the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (b), of this paragraph, the Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States in the implementation of Article 9a of Directive 2009/21/EC. 7. The Agency shall assist the Commission in the implementation of Directive 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council by providing its technical assessment on safety and environmental aspects, providing recommendations with lists of the respective design, construction and performance requirements and testing standards, and shall assist the Commission in setting up and maintaining the database provided for in Article 35(4) of that Directive and facilitating cooperation between notified assessment bodies, acting as the technical secretariat for their coordination group. 8. The Agency shall assist the Commission and the Member States in the identification of safety risks related to the development of technologies with advanced automation. 9. The Agency shall analyse statistics on seafarers provided and used in accordance with Directive (EU) 2022/993 of the European Parliament and of the Council. It may also, upon request of the Management Board, analyse statistics on the MLC 2006-related deficiencies identified during port State control inspections carried out under Directive 2009/16/EC with the aim of assisting in the improvement of the on-board working and living conditions of seafarers. 10. After prior approval by the Management Board, the Agency may assist the Commission and the Member States in emerging areas related to maritime safety, as appropriate and without prejudice to the competences of Member States in those areas.