Rules of the European Union for the acceptance and disposal of waste of ships in ports

Bjelica Vlajić Iris (Ministarstvo odbrane Republike Srbije, Beograd), iris_bjelica_vlajic@yahoo.com

Ship waste consists of discarded materials and anything decommissioned, whether generated on the vessel or from the cargo, regardless of size and volume. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) contains general prohibitions against blocking the sea from ships but also regulates the conditions under which certain types of waste can be discharged into the marine environment and requires the contracting parties to provide adequate reception facilities for waste in ports. The European Union (EU) continued implementing parts of the MARPOL Convention through Directive 2000/59/EC. Despite these regulatory developments, waste discharges into seas and rivers still cause significant environmental, social, and economic problems. Adequate port reception facilities are not always available, enforcement is often insufficient, and there is a lack of incentives for delivering waste to land. The new Directive EU/2019/883 is aimed at protecting the water environment from the negative effects of waste discharge from ships using ports located in the EU while ensuring the smooth development of water traffic, improving the availability and use of adequate port reception facilities, and delivering waste to those facilities. The paper aims to present the obligations of the member states in this area and the conditions that shipping companies should meet to reduce sea and river pollution by using port facilities. The research shows that the Republic of Serbia, with its eight international ports, has rapidly joined European water traffic. Therefore, in addition to a dedication to carrying out this duty, the port infrastructure needs to be built and modernised, particularly in terms of waste reception and treatment facilities.

Keywords: Pollution, seas, ports, European law