Binding regulations for the treatment of waste water from ships

Shipping generates various categories of waste water and different legal regulations apply to the discharge of the individual types, such as ballast water, scrubber wash water and ship sewage. Different legal levels (marine and international environmental law, European Union law, national law), different handling of this matter at international and national level, right through to specific conditions that apply at the individual ports all overlap. In February 2019, the German Environment Agency published an expert opinion on the legal requirements for handling waste water from ships (cf. link at the end of this press release). To date, however, no uniform national procedure has been agreed for the enforcement of these requirements in Germany.

The Federal Land of Bremen has therefore now drawn up regulations on its own initiative and published guidelines for the treatment of ship-generated waste water. These are intended to provide clarity about the valid requirements, not only for shipping, but also for the ports and public authorities.

These regulations have been compiled in one leaflet which provides further details and is intended primarily for shipowners and skippers. The leaflet and more information can be downloaded here.