Transport and Tourism Committee Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) said that vessels crossing European Union seas are to face deterrent penalties for oil spills, sewage and garbage discharge
On November 16, 2023, members of the Transport and Tourism Committee voted to update the rules for ships polluting the European seas by making sure the perpetrators face penalty fines.
IMO standards will become EU laws
With this move, International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s international standards on preventing illegal discharges will become a part of the EU law.
Ship owners will be responsible
According to the proposal, in case the master or crew responsible for the environmental damage cannot be found, the ship owner will be held responsible to pay the fine.
Member states should be more in contact
In the session, committee members also decided to be more in contact with member states on pollution incidents, since the CleanSeaNet, a European satellite-based alert system for oil spill lacks reporting on the follow up of such incidents. In addition to this, they want 50 per cent of CleanSeaNet alerts to be verified on spot.
Current EU rules are weakly applied
EP rapporteur Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, Romania) said, “The current EU rules do not work, because they are weakly applied by member states. This is unacceptable. It is time for member states to step up and protect European seas from the harmful effects of ships illegally dumping waste. It is necessary to effectively detect illegal discharges and set penalties at levels that serve as a real deterrent.”
Criminal sanctions are in talk
Aside from administrative fines, criminal sanctions are also to be addressed in a separate legislation.
OFFSHORE ENERGY
