Brussels, 16 February 2024
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached last night between the European Parliament and the Council on the amendment of Directive 2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for pollution offences. The co-legislators agreed to align the Directive with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Marpol) and to extend the scope of the directive to cover more types of polluting substances discharged into the sea, such as sewage and garbage.
The new rules will improve transparency by making information available online regarding the pollution offences in European seas and the penalties imposed. Additionally, information on how coastal authorities verified a potential spill after an alert by satellite surveillance will be available online. The amendment clarifies the application of administrative penalties to make them more effective: for example, the size of the illegal discharge, its impact on the environment or the financial capacity of the responsible entity will be considered when the Member States impose penalties. There will be stronger tools and platforms for the exchange of information and experience for Member State authorities. For example, satellite surveillance for ship-source pollution (CleanSeaNet – EMSA’s surveillance and information sharing database) will be improved and will have better resolution.
All the new measures make the deterrent effect stronger and contribute to pollution prevention in European seas.
Next steps
The political agreement reached last night must now be adopted formally. Once this process is completed by the European Parliament and the Council, the new rules will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force 20 days later. Member States will have 30 months to transpose the Directive into national law.
Background
This legislation was presented by the Commission in June 2023 as part of the maritime safety package, a concrete outcome of the Commission’s sustainable and smart mobility engagements.
The Directive is being revised for the second time. In 2009, it was revised to add criminal penalties, whereas with the current revision has removed criminal provisions and has moved them to the new Environmental Crime Directive, which now covers an offence related to unlawful ship-source pollution and criminal penalties for ship-source pollution.
As laid out in the EU Green Deal, the Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy and the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Commission has a vision to set shipping on a path towards zero emissions, pollution and accidents.
Quotes
We can only protect European seas and prevent illegal discharges from ships by working together. The revised rules for ship-source pollution make it easier to impose effective penalties that discourage pollution in the future.