| | The 25th meeting of the North Sea Network of Investigators and Prosecutors (NSN) was held in Gothenburg on 21-22 April at the kind invitation of Sweden. The meeting was chaired by Steven Vandenborre from Belgium and was opened by Jörgen Lindberg, Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor of the Swedish Prosecution Authority, who welcomed all participants to the vibrant maritime city of Gothenburg and organised a visit to the largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship in the world, a replica of an 18th-century ship in full 1:1 scale.
Following the adoption of OSPAR measures regarding the management of discharge waters from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) on board ships, NSN discussed how they could support the enforcement of the scrubber ban in internal waters and port areas and agreed to include this new scope of work in their Terms of Reference. It was noted that sharing cases of interest would be very valuable in the implementation process of the new OSPAR measures.
NSN is organising a joint seminar together with the Working Group on Operational, Technical and Scientific Questions Concerning Counter Pollution Activities (OTSOPA). The aim of the Seminar is to bring together the expertise of prosecutors, maritime inspectors, technical experts and policy makers to discuss the enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI cases covering SOx and NOx emissions infringements. A drafting group has been established to start planning this event, which will take place in 2027.
Under the North-East Atlantic Environment Strategy (NEAES) 2030 NSN is working on several tasks. On the update of the North Sea Manual on Maritime Pollution Offences, the NSN is carrying out the revision of the Chapter of Legal Instruments and is liaising with OTSOPA to undertake the revision of the technical sections. On the Cases of Interest database, NSN has included 224 records with the majority being MARPOL Annex I cases. Lastly, NSN has agreed to work on a new task on the criteria of monetary penalties for MARPOL Annex offences to assess if further OSPAR measures and recommendations are needed.
One of NSN’s strengths is sharing information on enforcement cases. This year several cases of interest were presented: simultaneous discharge of both Annex I and Annex II substances (Spain), illegal MARPOL Annex II discharge above the water level (the Netherlands), vessel suspected of bypassing the Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (Germany), and a case of scrapping of a container Ship (Germany).
The European Union, DG MOVE and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), gave an update on the consolidated text of Directive 2005/35/EC on Ship-Source Pollution and on the introduction of administrative penalties for infringements (SSPD), its interaction with the Environmental Crime Directive (ECD)[1] and the SSPD Reporting Tool developments for its implementation. One of the reporting components will focus on the penalty information and, for this development, NSN will be involved as appropriate.
NSN maintains a good information exchange with the Network of Prosecutors on Environmental Crime in the Baltic Sea Region (ENPRO) and the Mediterranean Network of Law Enforcement Officials relating to MARPOL within the framework of the Barcelona Convention (MENELAS), and updates from both networks were provided this year.
NSN thanked the Chair, Steven Vandenborre from Belgium, and the Vice Chair, Eva Ask Olesen from Denmark, for their guidance and the following participants leaving NSN: Jörgen Lindberg from Sweden for his work since NSN’s founding, Katrin Ewert from Germany for her expertise and Laura de la Torre from the Secretariat for her outstanding support.
NSN is looking forward to the autumn online meeting and the 2027 in person meeting in Spain.
[1] Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directives 2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC (ECD). |
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