Date: 2025-11-26Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: Europe
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2177 of 9 September 2025 amending Directive (EU) 2016/1629 of the European Parliament and of the Council to update the reference to the most recent European Standard laying down Technical Requirements for Inland Navigation Vessels (ES-TRIN 2025)
Issued by European Commission
· Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
**Executive Summary**
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2177, enacted on 9 September 2025, amends Directive (EU) 2016/1629 to update the reference to the latest European Standard laying down Technical Requirements for Inland Navigation Vessels, ES-TRIN 2025/1. It enters into force 20 days after publication and will apply from 1 January 2026. The updated standard is implemented to ensure uniform technical requirements for inland waterway vessels.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Amendment to Directive (EU) 2016/1629:**
* Annex II of Directive (EU) 2016/1629 is replaced to reflect the technical requirements set out in ES-TRIN 2025/1.
* **Adoption of ES-TRIN 2025/1:**
* The technical requirements applicable to crafts are now those outlined in ES-TRIN standard 2025/1.
* **ES-TRIN 2025/1 Key Updates:**
* Introduces new rules for low flashpoint fuels, including storage and use of methanol.
* Addresses marking of hazardous areas and fuel labelling.
* Covers electric propulsion systems and lithium-ion accumulators.
* Includes use of aluminium or fibre reinforced plastic in passenger vessel construction.
* Covers the abandonment of engine parameter protocol and recognition of field-testing exemption for engines.
* Includes new rules on filling connections, appropriate colour codes, navigation and information equipment including Inland AIS equipment, sewage treatment plants, elevating wheelhouses and transitional provisions for retractable wheelhouses, automatic pressurised water sprinkler systems, connecting pieces between anchor and chain and sleeping cabins.
* **Entry into Force and Application:**
* The Regulation enters into force twenty days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
* It becomes applicable from 1 January 2026.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Inland Navigation Vessel Operators and Owners**
* **Impact:** Operators and owners must ensure their vessels comply with the updated technical requirements outlined in ES-TRIN 2025/1.
* **Action Required:** Review and implement the new rules regarding low flashpoint fuels, electric propulsion systems, material usage, and other updated specifications by January 1, 2026.
**Stakeholder: Technical Inspection Bodies and Certifying Authorities**
* **Impact:** Inspection bodies and certifying authorities must use ES-TRIN 2025/1 as the reference standard for issuing technical certificates for inland waterway vessels.
* **Action Required:** Familiarise themselves with the updated requirements in ES-TRIN 2025/1 and update their inspection procedures accordingly.
**Stakeholder: European Committee for drawing up Standards in the field of Inland Navigation ('CESNI')**
* **Impact:** CESNI is responsible for setting the standards.
* **Action Required:** CESNI must continue to develop uniform technical standards for inland waterways, in particular as regards vessels and technical requirements for vessels.
**Stakeholder: Member States**
* **Impact:** Member States must implement the regulation in full in their territory
* **Action Required:** Ensure that they are fully compliant with updated regulations from January 1, 2026.
Key Entities Referenced
Directive (EU) 2016/1629: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels.
ES-TRIN: European Standard laying down Technical Requirements for Inland Navigation Vessels.
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2025/2177: Regulation amending Directive (EU) 2016/1629 to update the reference to ES-TRIN.
CESNI: European Committee for drawing up standards in the field of inland navigation.
Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2025/2177 26.11.2025
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION(EU) 2025/2177
of 9 September 2025
amending Directive (EU) 2016/1629 of the European Parliament and of the Council to update the
reference to the most recent European Standard laying down Technical Requirements for Inland
Navigation Vessels (ES-TRIN 2025)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 laying
down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels, amending Directive 2009/100/EC and repealing
Directive 2006/87/EC(1), and in particular Article 31(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Union action in the sector of inland navigation should ensure uniformity in the development of technical
requirements for inland waterway vessels in the Union.
(2) Directive (EU) 2016/1629 laid down a harmonised system for issuing technical certificates for inland waterway
vessels by, inter alia, referencing technical requirements of the European Committee for drawing up standards in the
field of inland navigation (‘CESNI’).
(3) CESNI was set up on 3 June 2015 in the framework of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine
(‘CCNR’) in order to develop uniform technical standards for inland waterways in various fields, in particular as
regards vessels and technical requirements for vessels. These standards are also referenced in the legal regime of the
CCNR.
(4) Annex II to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 provides that the technical requirements applicable to crafts are those set out
in the European Standard laying down Technical Requirements for Inland Navigation vessels in its edition 2023/1
(ES-TRIN 2023/1). ES-TRIN lays down the uniform technical requirements necessary to ensure the safety of inland
navigation vessels.
(5) At its meeting on 17 October 2024, CESNI adopted a new edition of ES-TRIN, namely ES-TRIN 2025/1. The
ES-TRIN 2025/1 especially introduces new rules concerning low flashpoint fuels, in particular storage and use of
methanol, marking of hazardous areas and labelling of fuels, electric propulsion systems and lithium-ion
accumulators, use of aluminium or fibre reinforced plastic for the construction of passenger vessels, abandonment
of engine parameter protocol, recognition of field-testing exemption for engines, filling connections and appropriate
colour codes, navigation and information equipment, in particular Inland AIS equipment, sewage treatment plants,
elevating wheelhouses and transitional provisions for retractable wheelhouses, automatic pressurised water sprinkler
systems, connecting pieces between anchor and chain and sleeping cabins.
(6) Annex II to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 should thus be updated to provide that the technical requirements applicable
to craft are those set out in ES-TRIN 2025/1 and should be applicable from 1 January 2026.
(7) Directive (EU) 2016/1629 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Annex II to Directive (EU) 2016/1629 is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Regulation.
(1) OJ L 252, 16.9.2016, p. 118, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/1629/oj.
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/2177/oj 1/3EN
OJ L, 26.11.2025
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2026.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 9 September 2025.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN
2/3 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/2177/ojEN
OJ L, 26.11.2025
ANNEX
‘ANNEX II
MINIMUM TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO CRAFT ON INLAND WATERWAYS OF ZONES 1, 2, 3 AND 4
The technical requirements applicable to craft are those set out in ES-TRIN standard 2025/1.’
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/2177/oj 3/3