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(3) The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (‘MARPOL Convention’) provides for general prohibitions on discharges from ships at sea, but also regulates the conditions under which certain types of waste can be discharged into the marine environment. The MARPOL Convention requires contracting Parties to ensure the provision of adequate reception facilities in ports.

(4) The Union has pursued the implementation of parts of the MARPOL Convention through Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and the Council , by following a port-based approach. Directive 2000/59/EC aims to reconcile the interests of smooth operation of maritime transport with the protection of the marine environment.

(5) In the last two decades, the MARPOL Convention and its Annexes have been the object of important amendments, which have put in place stricter norms and prohibitions for the discharges of waste from ships at sea.

(6) Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention introduced discharge norms for new waste categories, in particular the residues from exhaust gas cleaning systems, consisting of both sludge and bleed-off water. Those waste categories should be included in the scope of this Directive.

(7) Member States should continue to work at International Maritime Organization (‘IMO’) level for a comprehensive consideration of the environmental impacts of wastewater discharges from open loop scrubbers, including for measures to counter possible impacts.

(8) Member States should be encouraged to take appropriate measures in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council , including discharge bans for wastewater from open loop scrubbers and certain cargo residues in their territorial waters.

(9) On 1 March 2018, the IMO adopted the revised Consolidated Guidance for port reception facility providers and users (MEPC.1/Circ. 834/Rev.1) (‘the IMO Consolidated Guidance’), which includes standard formats for waste notification, for the waste delivery receipt and for reporting alleged inadequacies of port reception facilities, as well as waste reception facility reporting requirements.

(10) Despite those regulatory developments, discharges of waste at sea still occur at substantial environmental, social and economic costs. This is due to a combination of factors, namely adequate port reception facilities not always being available in ports, enforcement often being insufficient and there being a lack of incentives to deliver the waste onshore.

(11) Directive 2000/59/EC has contributed to increasing the volumes of waste being delivered to port reception facilities, inter alia, by ensuring that ships contribute to the costs of those facilities, irrespective of their actual use of those facilities, and as such has been instrumental in reducing waste discharges at sea, as was revealed in the evaluation of that Directive carried out in the framework of the Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme (‘REFIT Evaluation’).

(12) The REFIT Evaluation has also demonstrated that Directive 2000/59/EC has not been fully effective due to inconsistencies with the MARPOL Convention framework. In addition, Member States have developed different interpretations of the key concepts in that Directive, such as adequacy of the facilities, advance waste notification, the mandatory delivery of waste to port reception facilities and exemptions for ships in scheduled traffic. The REFIT Evaluation called for more harmonisation of those concepts and full alignment with the MARPOL Convention in order to avoid unnecessary administrative burden on both ports and port users.

(13) In order to align Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council to the relevant MARPOL Convention provisions on discharge norms, the Commission should assess the desirability of a review of that Directive, in particular through an extension of its scope.

(14) Union maritime policy should aim at a high level of protection of the marine environment taking into account the diversity of the maritime areas of the Union. It should be based on the principles that preventive action should be taken and that damage to the marine environment should, as a priority, be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.

(15) This Directive should be instrumental for the application of the main environmental legislation and principles in the context of ports and the management of waste from ships. In particular, Directives 2008/56/EC and 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and the Council are relevant instruments in this regard.

(18) Every year a substantial amount of plastic enters the seas and oceans in the Union. Although, in most sea areas, the majority of marine litter originates from land-based activities, the shipping industry, including the fishing and recreational sectors, is also an important contributor, with discharges of waste, including plastic and derelict fishing gear, going directly into the sea.

(19) Directive 2008/98/EC calls on Member States to halt the generation of marine litter as a contribution towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds.

(20) The Commission Communication of 2 December 2015 entitled ‘Closing the loop – An EU action plan for the Circular Economy’ acknowledged the specific role Directive 2000/59/EC had to play in this respect, by ensuring the availability of adequate facilities for the reception of waste, and providing for both the right level of incentives and the enforcement of the delivery of waste to the on-shore facilities.

(21) Offshore installations are one of the sea-based sources of marine litter. For that reason, Member States should adopt measures as appropriate on waste delivery from offshore installations flying their flag or operating in their waters, or both, and ensure compliance with the stringent discharge norms applicable to offshore installations laid down in the MARPOL Convention.

(22) Waste, in particular plastic waste, from rivers is one of the main contributors to marine litter, which includes discharges from inland waterway vessels. Those vessels should therefore be subject to stringent discharge and delivery norms. Nowadays, those rules are laid down by the relevant River Commission. However, inland ports are covered by Union waste law. To continue the efforts of harmonising the legislative framework for Union inland waterways, the Commission is invited to evaluate a Union regime for discharge and delivery norms of inland waterway vessels, taking into account the Convention on the collection, deposit and reception of waste produced during navigation on the Rhine and inland waterways of 9 September 1996 (CDNI).

(23) Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 requires Union fishing vessels to have the equipment on board to retrieve lost gear. In cases where gear is lost, the master of the vessel is to attempt to retrieve it as soon as possible. If the lost gear cannot be retrieved, the master of the fishing vessel is to inform the authorities of its flag Member State within 24 hours. The flag Member State has then to inform the competent authority of the coastal Member State. The information includes the external identification number and the name of the fishing vessel, the type and the position of lost gear as well as the measures that were undertaken to retrieve it. Fishing vessels below 12 metres can be exempted. Under the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, the reporting by the fishing vessel is to be done in an electronic logbook, and Member States are required to collect and record the information concerning lost gear and provide it to the Commission upon request. The information collected and available in the waste delivery receipts on passively fished waste in line with this Directive could also be reported in this way.

(24) In accordance with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, which was adopted on 13 February 2004 by IMO and which entered into force on 8 September 2017, all ships are obliged to carry out ballast water management procedures according to IMO standards, and ports and terminals designated for the cleaning and repair of ballast water tanks are required to provide adequate facilities for the reception of sediments.

(25) A port reception facility is considered to be adequate if it is able to meet the needs of the ships normally using the port without causing undue delay, as also specified in the IMO Consolidated Guidance and the IMO Guidelines for ensuring the adequacy of port waste reception facilities (Resolution MEPC.83(44)). Adequacy relates both to the operational conditions of the facility in view of the user needs, as well as to the environmental management of the facilities in accordance with Union waste law. It might, in some cases, be difficult to assess whether a port reception facility located outside the Union meets such standard.

(26) Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council requires international catering waste to be incinerated or disposed of by burial in an authorised landfill, including waste from ships calling at Union ports which has potentially been in contact with animal by-products on board. In order for this requirement not to limit the preparation for reuse and recycling of waste from ships, efforts should be made in accordance with the IMO Consolidated Guidance in order to better segregate the waste so that potential contamination of waste, such as packaging waste, can be avoided.