- The EU aims for zero water pollution by 2030 but struggles with monitoring and enforcement.
- Gaps in legislation allow shipowners to bypass recycling obligations, and lost containers often go unreported.
- Preventive inspections and penalties remain weak, limiting the effectiveness of pollution control measures.
A recent report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) highlights ongoing challenges in controlling pollution from ships despite stricter EU regulations. While the EU has incorporated international rules and even imposed tougher standards in areas such as oil pollution and sulphur emissions, implementation across the 22 coastal member states remains inconsistent.
EU Efforts to Combat Ship-Source Pollution
A major issue is the difficulty in monitoring pollution at sea and identifying its sources. For example, shipowners can evade recycling obligations by re-registering under a non-EU flag before dismantling their vessels. Similarly, EU rules on lost shipping containers are inadequate, leading to unreported losses and minimal recovery efforts.
Weak Enforcement and Insufficient Monitoring
The report points out that member states underutilize critical tools like standby oil-spill response vessels, drone detection, and the CleanSeaNet satellite monitoring system. Between 2022 and 2023, the system detected 7,731 possible oil spills in EU waters, but authorities acted on fewer than half, confirming pollution in just 7% of cases. Delays in response time contribute to this low enforcement rate.
Additionally, preventive inspections remain infrequent, and penalties for polluters are too lenient to act as deterrents. Illegal discharges of pollutants into the sea often go unpunished, and few member states report violations related to abandoned or lost fishing gear.
Lack of Transparency in EU Funding and Pollution Data
The auditors also found that neither the European Commission nor member states fully track EU funds allocated for combating marine pollution. There is little data on the actual effectiveness of these efforts, and the true extent of ship-source pollution remains largely unknown. This lack of comprehensive monitoring undermines the EU’s ambitious goal of achieving zero water pollution by 2030.
Ships—including cargo vessels, cruise liners, and fishing boats—are significant sources of marine pollution. They contribute to oil spills, chemical discharges, gas emissions, and waste disposal issues. The audit, covering 2014 to 2024, examined EU efforts to address ship-source pollution, focusing on two key marine regions: the Greater North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
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Source: European Court of Auditors
