China’s first Environmental Code has been released, with several chapters addressing the transportation and waterborne transport sectors.

　　Recently, the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress voted to pass the "Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China," marking the official birth of our country's first code in the field of ecological environment. Several chapters of this code regulate the transportation and water transport industry, with systematic provisions for the prevention and control of ship water pollution, providing a more stringent legal barrier for the protection of inland and marine environments.

　　The code is divided into five parts, covering general provisions, pollution prevention, ecological protection, green and low-carbon development, as well as legal responsibilities and appendices. In the pollution prevention section, the code pays high attention to ships as mobile sources of pollution. The reporter noticed that in Chapter 8 "Water Pollution Prevention Measures" of the "Water Pollution Prevention" sub-section, a special Section 4 "Ship Water Pollution Prevention" is established, detailing the regulation of pollutant discharge during ship navigation, berthing, and operation processes.

　　At the same time, considering the particularity of offshore and deep-sea environments, the code also establishes a special chapter "Ship Marine Pollution Prevention" in Chapter 15 of the "Marine Pollution Prevention" sub-section. This arrangement achieves full coverage from inland waters to jurisdictional sea areas, reflecting the legislative approach of "land-sea coordination."

　　According to the relevant provisions of the code, the discharge of pollutants such as oily wastewater, domestic sewage, and ship garbage must comply with national and local discharge standards. Ships should be equipped with corresponding anti-pollution equipment and materials and obtain certificates and documents for the prevention of marine environmental pollution in accordance with national regulations. Ports, docks, loading and unloading stations, and ship repair and dismantling units should be equipped with sufficient facilities for receiving ship pollutants and waste as required. For air pollutants emitted from the use of fuel oil, the code also proposes clear control requirements in the section "Motor Vehicles and Ships Air Pollution Prevention."

　　In terms of legal responsibilities, the fifth part of the code specifically sets up a separate section for legal responsibilities, where Section 5 "Violation of Water Pollution Prevention Regulations" and Section 6 "Violation of Marine Pollution Prevention Regulations" clarify the penalties for illegal discharge of pollutants by ships. Administrative responsibilities will be pursued for actions such as failing to equip anti-pollution facilities as required, illegally discharging pollutants, and dumping waste in violation of regulations; if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility will be pursued according to law.

　　With the implementation of the code, shipping companies, ship owners, and practitioners will face more standardized and stringent environmental protection requirements. Relevant management departments will also further strengthen supervision based on the authorization of the code, jointly safeguarding clear waters and blue skies.