EU Seas: Polluting Ships Can Still Sidestep Enforcement

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A new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) sounds the alarm: ships and vessels continue to pollute EU maritime waters without penalty. Even though EU legislation is improving and sometimes is even tougher than international rules, implementation by the 22 coastal EU member states is far from satisfactory. Actions to prevent, tackle, track and penalize various types of ship-source pollution are not up to the task, the auditors warn.

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EU legislation incorporates relevant international rules — sometimes with even stricter requirements — in areas such as oil pollution, shipwrecks, and sulfur emissions. However, the EU auditors also warn of gaps that the EU still needs to fill, particularly as regards pollution risks.

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For instance, it is still possible for shipowners to circumvent their recycling obligations by adopting a non-EU flag before dismantling their ships. The data speak for themselves: while 1 in every 7 ships in the world was flying the EU flag in 2022, the figure for the end-of-life fleet was 50% lower. Similarly, EU rules on containers lost at sea are far from watertight. First, there is no guarantee that all losses are declared; and second, very few containers are recovered.

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“Pollution at sea caused by ships remains a major problem, and despite a number of improvements in recent years, EU action is not really able to steer us out of troubled waters,” said Nikolaos Milionis, the ECA member responsible for the audit. “In fact, with over three-quarters of European seas estimated to have a pollution problem, the zero-pollution ambition to protect people’s health, biodiversity and fish stocks is still not within sight.”

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Read More at The Maritime Executive

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