Pollution from shipping : improving compliance measure

Abstract

This thesis mainly focuses on the legal framework relating to the ship-source marine pollution at international and regional level respectively, and introduces the feasible compliance measure to strengthen the implementation regarding legislation and technology. This work focus on the importance of protecting marine environment through against marine pollution that caused by coastal State, flag State, and port State. And the common people are obliged to conserve the marine environment and human habitats from minor pollution. Chapter one discusses the current status of marine environment, then introduces the conception of Marine Pollution under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and presents the source of marine pollution. Chapter two mainly concerns the ship-source pollution, which can be identified as following: exhaust emission, ballast water, oil spill, sewage, and other sanitary pollution from ships. It will go into details about each category, especially analyzing the Torrey Canyon disaster. Chapter three discusses the legal framework of protecting marine pollution at international and regional level, mainly International Maritime Organization Conventions such as the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 73/78 (MARPOL 73/78) regarding to the ship-source pollution, and regulations of marine pollution from ships under UNCLOS. Chapter will also look at the 1976 Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention)3 and 1992 Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (Helsinki Convention)4 which are relating to the regions of Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea. Chapter four deals with the improving compliance measure regarding three kinds of ship-source pollution, which respectively are oil spill pollution, exhaust emission, and ballast water. It introduces the measures that range from the perfecting legislations to improving the ship’s structure and advancing technology in this regard. All works are summarized above, the problems and suggestions are also concluded in the final part.