The maritime traffic has been increasing worldwide during the last 20 years. This has resulted in a much stronger focus on the environmental impact from Government and NGO´s, and lately also from the shipping industry. Illegal operational discharges of oily waste especially in coastal areas has drawn the attention the this, but especially the increasing volume of plastic found in the oceans of which a significant part derives from the maritime traffic is worrying. Internationally, the IMO Convention on Marine Pollution, MARPOL regulates the maritime traffic regarding the management of ship-generated waste and cargo residues and provides recommendations to ports on how to ensure sustainable collection of such waste without causing the ships any undue delays.
