The MED covers any ship flying a flag of an EEA member state. The UK Competent Body is the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) formerly the Marine Safety Agency (MSA). Conformity assessment is through a Notified Body, such as BSI, and the compliance mark is the Ship's Wheel.
The MED covers a vast array of equipment, covering all aspects of a ships safety.
Annex A.1 - lists equipment that requires the assistance of a Notified Body for conformity assessment.
The equipment is listed under the following headings:
- Life-saving appliances
- Marine-pollution prevention
- Fire protection
- Navigation equipment
- Radio-communication equipment
Along with the specific item designations, this Annex lists the applicable SOLAS regulations and International testing standards that must be used and the Modules for conformity assessment.
Annex A.2 - lists equipment for which no detailed testing standards exist in International instruments and as such will require the application of relevant national standards. Therefore, there are no specific conformity assessment requirements.
BSI are currently accredited for 42 of the product lines listed in Annex A.1 under Life Saving Appliances and Fire Protection and will be increasing this coverage in the future.
