Unilateral action by the EU to combat carbon dioxide emissions from shipping may have moved a step closer following a disappointing meeting of the International Maritime Organisation's working group on greenhouse gas emissions from ships in Oslo last month.
The Commission has given a new hint that it is running out of patience with the International Maritime Organisation’s ability to tackle shipping’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
Companies involved in maritime accidents that lead to major oil spills can be liable under EU waste law for the environmental damage caused, according to a preliminary finding at the European Court of Justice.
A new era of wind-powered cargo ships could be about to begin, following an apparently successful trial of a German ship sailing from Bremen to Venezuela.
Significant progress has been made in the fight to reduce air pollution caused by ships, as the International Maritime Organisation looks set to impose caps on sulphur in shipping fuels later this year.
A new report suggests shipping’s contribution to global warming may have been underestimated, while a coalition of environmental NGOs has said cleaning up shipping’s pollutant emissions would save ‘tens of thousands of premature deaths’.
The French oil company Total has been given the largest-ever fine imposed in Europe for damage caused to the environment. At the end of a long trial, a criminal court in Paris last month found Total guilty of ‘ecological prejudice’ and recklessness over the oil spill from the tanker Erika off the coast of France and Spain in 1999. Total and three other parties were ordered to pay €192 million for the environmental damage caused, after evidence was presented showing they ignored risks in the ageing tanker. Total has said it may appeal, but it might also face claims for more damages.
Countries bordering the Baltic Sea have called for tighter international regulations to prevent a predicted sharp increase in emissions of nitrogen oxides from ships in the Baltic. In a letter to the International Maritime Organisation, the Helsinki Commission, which groups countries with a Baltic coastline, said the IMO must be strict when it approves new emission limits for NOx and sulphur oxides in March.
As the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the London-based United Nations body that regulates shipping across the world, began meetings this week to review and potentially tighten air pollution standards for the world’s shipping fleet, continuing scientific research has found that the use of cleaner marine fuel could prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths from shipping air pollution each year.
The EU is allowed to punish ship owners whose ships cause ‘intentional, reckless or seriously negligent’ pollution in EU waters, according to a preliminary opinion from the European Court of Justice.