EU Marine Equipment Directive 2014/90/EU
Directive 2014/90/EU sets EU type approval and wheel-mark rules for marine equipment on EU-flag ships, with the item list set by implementing regulations.
The Marine Equipment Directive (MED), Directive 2014/90/EU, governs the type approval of equipment placed on board EU-flag ships under the IMO conventions. Approved equipment carries the wheel mark. The list of items, with the design, performance and testing standards for each and the conformity assessment modules, is set by Commission implementing regulations; the current one is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1533 of 23 July 2025, in force from 23 September 2025.
Each item has a MED number. The bridge navigational watch alarm system , for example, is MED/4.57, tested to IEC 62616:2010 and IEC 60945:2002 against resolutions MSC.128(75) and MSC.302(87). The full article will cover the directive’s scope, the notified bodies, modules B, D, E, F and G, the electronic tag, and the mutual recognition arrangement with the United States.