<
https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/02/16/lawmakers-agree-tougher-standards-to-tackle-marine-pollution>
"Ship owners and operators will face greater accountability for their
environmental impact after MEPs and EU governments agreed tougher standards to
prevent pollution in European seas, following a political agreement struck in
Brussels on Thursday evening (February 15).
The deal reached by MEPs and EU governments included a broadening of the range
of substances that cannot be discharged from ships, to sewage, garbage and
residues from the scrubbers used to remove toxic substances from exhaust
funnels.
MEP Sara Cerdas (Portugal/S&D), who was part of the parliamentary negotiating
team, said the deal will mean “more robust sanctioning” measures for vessels
that pollute the ocean, more closely aligning EU law with its international
obligations on prevention of pollution.
“The new rules introduce criminal sanctions for ships that commit pollution
crimes and the inclusion of new polluting substances, such as pellets,” added
Cerdas.
The issue of plastic pellet pollution gained prominence earlier this year after
million of tiny particles washed up on Spanish beaches after containers fell
from a cargo ship during heavy weather.
This came after the European Commission had already proposed to revise the 2005
Ship-Source Pollution Directive in June last year, in a bid to align various EU
maritime bills with international regulations, to simplify reporting
obligations, and to prevent fragmentation of regulations between EU countries.
National governments will now need to introduce mechanisms to impose
“dissuasive fines” for all the ships found in breach of the new rules, in line
with with criminal sanctions set out in EU environmental crime legislation
adopted last November.
MEP Marian-Jean Marinescu (Romania/EPP), who as rapporteur was lead negotiator
for the parliament, said it was important that the penalties “reflect the
seriousness of the offenses” so as to act as a “true deterrent”.
“Member states must not falter in their duty to safeguard our marine
environment. We need a concentrated effort, utilising advanced technologies
like satellite monitoring and on-site inspections, to stamp out illegal
discharges effectively,” said Marinescu, referring to the European satellite
CleanSeaNet, operated by the European Maritime Safety Agency, which tracks
vessels and monitors for oil spills."
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
