Court of Justice clarifies waste transfer rules for ships following high seas incidents

Today, the Court of Justice has delivered its judgment in Conti 11. Container Schiffahrt II (C-188/23) on the interpretation of waste transfer regulations in the case involving the container ship MSC Flaminia, which suffered fire damage while traveling between the U.S. and Belgium. The ship was towed to Wilhelmshaven, Germany, where some waste, including firefighting water and debris, was offloaded and transferred to Denmark. The remaining waste was then shipped to Romania for disposal or recovery, raising legal questions about the application of EU waste transfer regulations.

Under EU Regulation No. 1013/2006, waste generated aboard ships is exempt from notification and consent requirements until it is offloaded for disposal or r