Owners of vessels used to transport dangerous goods on Luxembourg's inland waterways must hold a certificate of approval (unless exempted under the terms of the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways – ADN).

This certificate proves that the vessel has been inspected, and that its design and equipment are fully compliant with the requirements set forth in the ADN.

Who is concerned

All owners of vessels (dry goods carriers or tankers) used to transport dangerous goods.

Preliminary steps

In Luxembourg, ADN certificates of approval are issued if and only if:

• the vessel in question has both a Luxembourg registration certificate and a European Union certificate; and
• the inspection report, issued by an accredited classification society, is presented.

The vessel is subject to an initial inspection:

• if it does not yet have a certificate of approval; or
• if more than 12 months have elapsed since the certificate expired.

It is possible to apply for a provisional certificate of approval pending the issuance of a definitive certificate of approval.

The inspection report must be written in any of the following 3 languages:

• French;
• German;
• English.

How to proceed

Submitting the application

The vessel owner (or their authorised agent) must file the application with the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works (Ministère de la Mobilité et des Travaux publics), using the appropriate form (see 'Forms / Online services' below), whether the vessel is a dry goods carrier or a tanker intended to transport dangerous goods.

In the case of tankers, the certificate must be accompanied by a list of the dangerous goods that the tanker is authorised to transport, issued by an accredited classification society.

The vessel owner must provide a completed, dated and signed ADN certificate of approval application form for the appropriate vessel type, along with any and all relevant supporting documents. The supporting documents that must be included depend on the type of application.

Types of application and duration of validity

In the ADN certificate of approval application form, the owner must select an application type.

Issue of a certificate of approval under section 1.16.2 of the ADN

The ADN certificate of approval mentioned in section 1.16.1 will be issued if and only if:

• the vessel is registered in Luxembourg; or failing that
• its port of registry is Luxembourg; or else
• the owner is established in Luxembourg.

The period of validity of the ADN certificate of approval will be determined on the basis of the inspection report, but under no circumstances may it exceed 5 years.

Issue of a provisional certificate of approval under subsection 1.16.1.3 of the ADN

For a vessel which does not have a certificate of approval, a time-limited provisional certificate of approval may be issued in the following circumstances, subject to the conditions below:

• the vessel complies with the applicable provisions of the ADN, but the normal certificate could not be obtained in time: the provisional certificate of approval is valid for an appropriate length of time, which may not exceed 3 months;
• the vessel does not comply with all of the applicable provisions of the ADN, but in the view of the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, the safety of the transport is not compromised: a provisional certificate of approval may only be issued once, and for a length of time considered sufficient to bring the vessel into compliance with the applicable provisions, which length of time may not exceed 3 months. For this purpose, the applicant may be asked to provide additional reports besides the inspection report;
• the vessel has sustained damage, and therefore does not comply with all the applicable provisions of the ADN: in this case, the provisional certificate of approval will be valid for a single trip and specific cargo only. The vessel owner may be required to satisfy certain additional conditions.

Renewal of a certificate of approval under section 1.16.10 of the ADN

The vessel owner must have the vessel inspected periodically by one of the accredited classification societies. The owner may ask a classification society to carry out an inspection at any time.

When the date of periodic inspection report is in the last year before the certificate of approval to be renewed is due to expire, the validity of new certificate of approval commences upon expiry of the certificate to be renewed.

A periodic inspection may also be requested within 12 months of the expiry of the certificate of approval. Beyond that time limit, the vessel must undergo a new initial inspection, under the terms of section 1.16.8 of the ADN.

The validity of the new certificate of approval is determined on the basis of the inspection report, but under no circumstances shall it exceed 5 years as of the expiry date of the certificate of approval to be renewed.

Amendment of a certificate of approval under section 1.16.6 of the ADN

The owner must apply for an amendment to the ADN certificate of approval in the event of any changes to the certificate requiring such an amendment under the terms of the ADN or under any other provisions established by mutual agreement by the signatories to the ADN. If there has been no change to the vessel's state or technical specifications, a new ADN certificate of approval will be issued for the remaining period of validity of the current certificate, without the need for a new inspection.

Issue of a duplicate certificate of approval under section 1.16.14 of the ADN

An application for a duplicate, accompanied by the relevant supporting documents, must be filed:

• in the event of the loss, theft or destruction of the ADN certificate of approval; or
• when it has become unusable for any other reason.

In the event of the loss or theft of the certificate, a Police report recording the loss or theft must also be included with the application.

In the event of the destruction of the certificate, or the inability to use the certificate for any other reason, the defaced or unusable ADN certificate of approval must be returned.

Extension of a certificate of approval without further inspection, under the terms of section 1.16.11 of the ADN

Upon their reasoned request, a vessel owner can apply for an extension of the validity of the ADN certificate of approval, by up to a year. Such extensions are not invariably granted. Such an extension:

• will be issued in writing;
• must be kept aboard the vessel;
• may be granted only once in the course of 2 periods of validity of the ADN certificate of approval.

Supporting documents

Depending on the type of application, the applicant (the owner or their authorised representative) must attach the following to their application for approval:

1. a copy of their ID card;
2. the vessel's registration certificate;
3. the classification certificate;
4. the inspection report, issued by an accredited classification society;
5. where applicable, the list of materials that the vessel can transport, drawn up by the same classification society that issued the inspection report;
6. the old certificate of approval;
7. if applicable, the power of attorney;
8. if applying for a duplicate: a police report attesting to the loss or theft;
9. if applying for an amendment or extension of a certificate: a letter setting out the reasons for the amendment or extension.

The supporting documents must be provided in .pdf format, with the filenames 'Justificatif 1', 'Justificatif 2', etc. (justificatif = supporting document).

Forms / Online services

Who to contact