Implementation of Ship-Source Pollution Directive sent out for comments

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is inviting comments on the draft government proposal concerning the implementation of the Ship-Source Pollution Directive. The necessary amendments would be made to the Environmental Protection Act. Comments may be submitted until 18 June 2026.

In 2024, the European Union adopted a directive amending the Ship-Source Pollution Directive. The amendments to the Directive require Member States to prohibit in their legislation any discharges from ships that violate the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention). The purpose of the MARPOL Convention is to prevent marine pollution from ships. It covers the discharges of oil, chemicals and sewage and air pollution, and discharges of garbage and harmful substances carried in packaged form.

The government proposal would lay down provisions on a new administrative fine for discharges from ships that would apply to discharges that violate the MARPOL Convention. The fine could also be imposed for violating national prohibitions concerning discharges of greywater and scrubber discharge water. The Border Guard would impose the fine to the owner of the ship from which the illegal discharges originate. The amount of the fine would vary depending on the substance discharged as shown in the tables to be annexed to the act. In addition, necessary legislative amendments required by the Directive would be made to the Act on Environmental Protection in Maritime Transport concerning the monitoring of emissions and related reporting. 

At the same time, amendments to Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention concerning air pollution introduced by the International Maritime Organization IMO would be proposed for approval by Parliament. The amendments concern the designation of the North-East Atlantic, Norwegian Sea and Canadian Arctic as Emission Control Areas and the reporting and publicity of data of the IMO Data Collection System (DCS) concerning fuel oil consumption. 

What’s next? 

Comments on the draft government proposal may be submitted at lausuntopalvelu.fi until 18 June 2026. The Ministry of Transport and Communications will take the feedback from the public consultation into account as it continues the law drafting. 

The government proposal should be ready to be submitted to Parliament in autumn 2026. The amendments required by the Directive must be brought into force by 6 July 2027. 

Inquiries: 

Laura Sarlin, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 063, [email protected]