Ship-Generated Waste and Cargo Residues Institutional Framework and Management in Albania

Approximation of the Acquis into national legislation is an iterative process involving institutional arrangements and adoption of specific binding legal measures (quality and technical standards, testing and notification requirements, etc.) and country-specific decisions on discretionary and suggested legal measures. Having the candidate status to EU entrance and being a costal country Albania has to handle important issues as water quality and management and other issues linked with. The Directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues1 pursues the same aim as the MARPOL Convention 73/782 on the prevention of pollution by ships, which Albania has signed and ratified, and the Ballast Water Management Convention: to reduce discharges of ship-generated waste and cargo residues into the sea. The Directive focuses on ship operations in European Union ports obliging ports’ authorities to establish adequate reception facilities and to require that ships using these facilities, while the MARPOL Convention regulates discharges by ships at sea. The Directive addresses in detail the legal, financial and practical responsibilities of the different operators involved in delivery of ship-generated waste and cargo residues. The present article presents the approximation process consisting of legal transposition, practical implementation, and enforcement of the EU Directive 2000/59/EC in Albania.