Illegal Oil Discharge in European Seas - Environment Alert Bulletin 7

One-third of global marine oil transportation passes through European waters. Not only oil tankers, but various other cargo ships pose a constant threat of small to medium-scale oil pollution from illegal dumping of oily wastes with at least 3000 major events per year around Europe(1). The devastating consequences of occasional “newsworthy” accidents are outmatched by constant small, but still harmful, releases from oil industry transport.