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Operational discharge

Deliberate discharges of oil from ships at sea result from various maintenance operations.

Discharging oily waste at sea is not always illegal.

Vessels caught illegally discharging waste no longer go unpunished.

Special maritime zones enable coastal States to participate more actively in the protection of the natural environment.

Every year, France draws up a report of operational discharge in its surveillance zones.

The alternative to discharge at sea.

Visual aerial detection. Remote sensing. Tools of the future.

Once the offence has been detected, the information must be transferred to the relevant authorities.

Once an offence has been reported, the offender must be prosecuted and proven guilty.

Inspection, detention and sentence.

The reinforcement of France's policy of repression against operational discharge.

Convictions for voluntary discharge of oil in the States which take legal action against offenders

Presentation of international and European texts which govern operational discharge.

Cooperation between States involved is essential within the limits of the prerogatives and responsibilities of each State.

With increasingly hefty fines, a significant drop in the number of cases detected has been observed in recent years.