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Archive for the ‘Pollution prevention’ Category
New legislation could lead to emission tests on Bosphorus vessels
A legislation passed by the Istanbul Development Agency (İSTKA) yesterday could mean vessels in the Bosphorus being subject to emission inspections and fines for the use of highly pollutant fuels.
ISTKA will join forces with the Istanbul Technical University (ITU) to design a feasibility study to identify heavy polluters among strait traffic. Under the new legislation, suspect vessels will then be required to have their emissions measured by authorities, according to Turkey’s Today’s Zaman.
IMO creates mandatory emissions reduction regime
On 15 July 2011, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted mandatory measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from international shipping by amending the Marpol Convention Annex VI Regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships (MARPOL Annex VI). In similar news, the European Commission announced a proposed amendment to the EU’s Sulphur Directive which will bring the EU’s regulation in line with the IMO’s sulphur regulations in MARPOL Annex VI.
Commission Urges Member States to Implement Sea Pollution Laws
The European Commission gave a series of Member States two months time to transpose EU rules laying down criminal penalties against sea pollution and other environmental offences.
Directive 2009/123/EC (amending Directive 2005/35/EC) on ship-source pollution is part of a set of EU rules to reinforce maritime safety and help prevent pollution from ships. It requires Member States to consider serious and illicit discharges of polluting substances from ships as a criminal offence. Eight states (Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia) have failed to comply with separate rules on pollution from ships. This Directive was due to be implemented by 16 November 2010. Read more »
Cargo ship’s chief engineer pleads guilty to violating Pollution Prevention Act
United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court, May 3, Vaja Sikharulidze, a citizen of Georgia, pled guilty before United States District Judge James C. Dever, III to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Sections 1901, et. seq. A Criminal Information was filed on April 23. Read more »
Another Ship Operator Pleads Guilty, Concealing Pollution
Another Ship Operator Pleads Guilty, Concealing Pollution
A Panamanian company that operated a 40,000-ton oil tanker ship that regularly made calls in multiple ports in Texas pleaded guilty Oct. 21 in federal court in Houston for deliberately concealing pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea, the Justice Department announced.
