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               DIRECTIVE 2013/53/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF 
                                                 THE COUNCIL 
                                               of 20 November 2013 
                  on recreational craft and personal watercraft and repealing Directive 
                                                      94/25/EC 
                                           (Text with EEA relevance) 
                                                            
                                                     CHAPTER I 
                                              GENERAL PROVISIONS  
                                                       Article 1 
                                                    Subject matter 
                This  Directive  lays  down  requirements  for  the  design  and  manufacture  of  products  
                 referred to in Article 2(1) and rules on their free movement in the Union. 
               
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              Directive  2013/53/EU  (Recreational  Craft  Directive,  RCD  or  the  Directive)   is  a  full 
              harmonisation Directive in the sense that it supersedes existing national legislation in 
              the field covered: watercraft (recreational craft and personal watercraft), propulsion 
              engines or designated components may only be placed on the market if they are in 
              conformity with the Directive's requirements and, on the other hand, Member States 
              may not impede free circulation or the marketing of compliant products. 
               
              Recreational Craft Directive carries specific obligations for natural or legal persons  
              who make the products in scope available on the market and/or puts into service be it 
              the  economic  operator  (manufacturers,  authorized  representatives,  importers  and 
              distributors) or "non-economic operator" (private importers, persons who modifies or 
              converts the products, builders of boat for own use). 
               
              The Directive is applicable to all forms of supplying products intended to be made 
              available on the Union market, regardless of the selling technique. So, it includes also 
              distance selling and selling through electronic means (internet, e-commerce etc.). See 
              Chapter 2.1 "product coverage" of the “The ‘Blue Guide’ on the implementation of EU 
                                                                         
              1        OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 90. 
                       
                       
                       
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             product     rules”   for    further   guidance.     http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-
             databases/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=7326 
              
             Chapter I. of the Directive introduces the general provisions of the Recreational Craft 
             Directive which includes articles on scope, definitions, essential requirements and 
             conditions of placing the products on the Union market or putting it into service and 
             its free movement.  
                                                  Article 2 
                                                    Scope 
               1. This Directive shall apply to the following products:   
              
             (a) recreational craft and partly completed recreational craft; 
             The scope and the objectives of the Directive remain unchanged from the previous 
             Directive  94/25/EC,  to  ensure  free  movement  of  products  in  scope  in  the  Union 
             territory. Therefore, the RCD provides for harmonised requirements and procedures to 
             establish compliance for products placed on the market or put into service, that are 
             either  products  manufactured  in  the  EU/EEA  or  products  imported  from  a  third 
             country (irrespective whether new or second-hand).  
              
             Recreational craft are defined in Article 3(2) of the Directive.  
              
             Design  and  construction  requirements  for  recreational  craft  and  partly  completed 
             recreational craft are specified in Annex I.A of the Directive. Requirements for exhaust 
             and noise emissions of recreational craft are provided by Annexes I.B and I.C of the 
             Directive.   
             A partly completed recreational craft is an incomplete craft consisting of a hull or a 
             hull  and fitted  components (parts of the craft other than Annex II components). It 
             might be possible that components, as referred to in Annex II of the Directive, are 
             installed  on  a  partly  completed  recreational  craft.  These  Annex  II  components  are 
             subject to conformity assessment, as explained in the comments to Article 2(1) (c) 
             below. Boat kits consisting of panels and parts to make the boat, including its hull, 
             typically of wood or metal,  may also  be considered as partly completed recreational 
             craft (see note on kit boats below). 
             Partly completed recreational craft must fulfil all the relevant essential safety, health, 
             environmental protection requirements of the Directive when made available on the 
             market. It is destined to be completed by another party who will be regarded as the 
             manufacturer and who will need to ensure that completed craft meet the essential 
             requirements. 
             The  product  becomes  a  completed  recreational  craft  when  placed  on  the  market 
             and/or put into service as a recreational craft. The final responsibility of this action lies 
             with the one who places it on the market or puts it into service. 
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       Watercraft, i.e. recreational craft and personal watercraft, which after their completion 
       have been partly dismantled (e.g. having their propulsion engines taken out), and are 
       placed on the market as such, cannot be considered as partly completed craft. For 
       further  clarification,  see  the  comments  to  the  provisions  on  post  construction 
       assessment under Article 23 and set out in Annex V of the Directive. 
       Note: Kit Boats 
       Kit  boats  are  considered  as  partly  completed  watercraft  purchased  from  a 
       manufacturer where all parts necessary to complete the construction of the boat in 
       compliance with the essential requirements of the Directive are provided. When the kit 
       boat manufacturer has supplied all parts necessary for completion, as defined above, 
       CE marking shall  be  fixed  accordingly  by  the  person  placing  the  product  on  the 
       market or putting it into service. Compliance with the Directive shall in these cases be 
       ensured for all variations available from the manufacturer, especially those that would 
       change  the  stability  characteristics  from  the  basic  model  e.g.  variations  in  mast 
       configuration and rigging. 
       When a kit  boat  is  bought  by  its  end  user,  from  the  kit  boat  manufacturer,  and 
       completed  not  in  accordance  with  the  kit  manufacturer's  instructions  but  to  the 
       “desires” of the end user, the party that undertakes the completion of the kit boat is 
       considered  to  assume  the  responsibility  as  manufacturer  for  the  watercraft's 
       conformity with the Directive before placing such watercraft on the market or putting it 
       into service.  
        
       The above does not absolve the kit manufacturer of his responsibilities, within the 
       modular system, as detailed under Article 19 (1) of the Directive.  
       (b) personal watercraft and partly completed personal watercraft; 
        
       Personal watercraft (PWC) is defined in Article 3(3) of the Directive.  
        
       Design and construction requirements for personal watercraft and partly completed 
       personal watercraft are specified in  Annex  I.A  of  the  Directive.    Requirements  for 
       exhaust and noise emissions of personal watercraft are provided by Annexes I.B and 
       I.C of the Directive. 
        
       A partly completed personal watercraft is an incomplete craft consisting of a hull or a 
       hull and fitted components (other than Annex II components). It might be possible that 
       components, as referred to in Annex II, are installed on a partly completed personal 
       watercraft.  These  Annex  II  components  are  subject  to  conformity  assessment,  as 
       explained in the comments to Article 2(1)(c) below. 
        
       Application of the actual harmonised standard EN ISO 13590 Personal watercraft – 
       Construction  and  system  installation  requirements  provides,  in  accordance  with 
       Article 14 of the Directive, the presumption of conformity with the Directive’s relevant 
       design and construction requirements for personal watercrafts, in as far as those 
       requirements are covered by this standard. Note however that the actual EN ISO 8666 
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