IMO’s GloBallast Partnerships Project, which assists developing countries and their maritime industries for implementation of the international regulations on ballast water management to prevent the spread of alien invasive species, has won the 6th Marine BizTV International Maritime Award for “Best Innovative Project”.

Preventing pollution was one of the original aims of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), when it was set up in 1948. But its environmental rule-making has intensified in recent years.

Environmental Protection Engineering S.A.(E.P.E.) has become the first Greek company to obtain certification from classification society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) as a certified provider of  Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) services.

A significant number of oil spills occur during the bunkering process when ships refuel at ports, more so than incidents related to cargo tankers, the managing director of Intertanko said, urging the shipping industry to focus on preventing such accidents.

Civil society organisations from across the EU are calling on EU Member States to up their level of ambition and tighten marine litter reduction targets with the aim of ending the marine litter problem within a generation.