Overview of New Regulations on Reception and Handling of Ship Waste

Abstract

In 2019, a new Directive (EU) 2019/883 on port facilities for the reception of ship-generated waste was adopted at the level of the European Union), repealing the old Directive 2000/59/EC of 2000 (hereinafter: Directive (EU) 2019/883). In order to implement the Directive (EU) 2019/883 into the national legal system, in 2021 the Republic of Croatia adopted a new Ordinance on the terms and methods of maintaining order in ports and other parts of the internal sea waters and the territorial sea of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter: Ordinance) and thus transposed the new regulations on the delivery and handling of ship-generated waste into the Croatian legal system. The aim of the paper is to present the new solutions for the reception and handling of ship-generated waste from the Directive (EU) 2019/883 and to compare the solutions from the Directive (EU) 2019/883 with the Croatian legal framework for the reception and handling of ship-generated waste through a comparative analysis. Finally, an assessment of the creation of an adequate legal framework for the reception and handling of ship-generated waste in Croatian ports is provided, as well as suggestions for filling existing legal gaps. An analysis of the Croatian legal framework has shown that there are mutual inconsistencies, and that there is a need to revise the provisions of the Maritime Code and the Ordinance when receiving and handling of ship-generated waste.