Government updates marine water protection rules to align with EU requirements

The Government has updated the Rules for the Protection of Ukraine’s Inland Marine Waters and Territorial Sea from Pollution and Littering. The amendments clarify requirements for discharges from ships, waste management, the use of chemical and biological substances, and the division of responsibilities among the institutions and businesses in charge of environmental safety in seaports.

What the changes provide for:

• Tighter control over the discharge of bilge water, sewage, ballast water and sludge from ships into inland marine waters and the territorial sea.
• Clearer requirements for the use of chemical and biological substances in the marine environment, including their state registration and compliance with chemical safety rules.
• A clearer procedure for managing waste accumulated on board ships.
• Defined environmental impact assessment requirements for the construction and operation of facilities, and for any work that could harm the environment.
• A refreshed division of responsibilities among the State Environmental Inspectorate, seaport authorities, ship repair yards and businesses involved in seaport environmental safety.
• Alignment of the Rules’ terminology with current legislation.

These changes are intended to set clearer requirements for activities that may affect the marine environment and to strengthen its protection against pollution and littering.

The decision will also help deliver Strategic Objective 3 of Ukraine’s Marine Environmental Protection Strategy, which calls for improving legislation on the management, protection, use and restoration of aquatic bioresources in the Black and Azov Seas and for reducing marine pollution.

“We are steadily bringing Ukrainian rules into line with European requirements. For the marine environment, this matters especially, because pollution knows no borders and directly affects ecosystems, aquatic bioresources and people’s safety. Updating these rules is another practical step toward a modern system of marine water protection and toward Ukraine meeting its European integration commitments,” said Iryna Ovcharenko, Deputy Minister of Economy and Environment of Ukraine.

The Rules were drafted to align national legislation with EU law, in particular Directive 2008/56/EC (the Marine Strategy Framework Directive), Directive 2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties, and Directive (EU) 2019/883 on port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships.