Shipping industry gets on board with plastic fight

The shipping industry has become the latest sector to promise tougher action on plastic waste as concern over the impact of stray plastics on marine life shows little sign of dissipating.

Late last week the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted a new action plan, which promises stricter rules and regulations to curb marine plastic litter from ships.

Ships are already barred from dumping plastic in the ocean by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), but studies have revealed waste from ships is still ending up in the oceans.

Under the action plan the IMO said it would launch a new study into the scale of marine plastic litter still coming from ships, ensure ports have enough capacity to take rubbish from boats, and consider requiring boats to mark up their fishing gear to track perpetrators of illegal net dumping.

It also said the industry would consider implementing a mandatory reporting scheme for any containers lost at sea. All actions would be completed by 2025, IMO said.

The IMO added the action would help it towards meeting targets set out under the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, which aims to protect "life below water".

The action plan was adopted at a meeting of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee in London last week, where talks aimed at accelerating the shipping industry's progress towards decarbonisation were underway. 

Reports suggest the climate action talks stalled however, with delegates agreeing to resume discussions in May 2019.