The main aim of these changes is to promote more efficient waste management in ports, increase reuse, promote material recycling, and reduce marine litter.

The new regulations entail stricter requirements for follow-up and supervision of ship vessels, as well as extended reporting obligations for certain ship vessel types.

Ports are also required to arrange for the reception of sorted waste from the ship vessels that use the port.

The supervisory authorities responsible for following up the pollution regulations are the Norwegian Environment Agency and the Norwegian Maritime Administration.

This regulation comes into force from 1 October 2023 and can be read in its entirety at Lovdata.no (in Norwegian only).

The changes in the pollution regulations have consequences for reporting in SafeSeaNet Norway and some changes will be put into operation from the mentioned date.

In summary, the new changes include the following:

• The possibility to register ships and ports that are exempt from the pollution regulations.
• Introduction of functionality that enables ports to store and present their approved waste plan for arriving vessels.
• Establishment of functionality for registering receipts for delivered waste in port.
• In connection with these changes, the Norwegian Coastal Administration has prepared a more detailed guide, which can be read in its entirety here.