BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: André Kegels, Kegels Advocaten
• the Belgian Statute of 20 January 1999 on the Protection of the Marine Environment in the sea areas under Belgian Jurisdiction, as amended (the “Marine Protection Act”) – this statute implements various international trea - ties and EU directives, and contains criminal liability provisions, reverses the burden of proof and authorises authorities to inter - vene in the case of incidents threatening the (marine or any other) environment, and it pro - vides for substantial fines and incarceration; • various legal instruments, enacted by the Federal State and the regions, each within their authority in the implementation of Direc - tive 2009/98 EC on Waste (the “Waste Direc - tive”); and • the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments 2004 (the “Ballast Water Manage - ment Convention”), which entered into force in Belgium on 8 September 2017. EU Emission Trading System The EU Emission Trading System (EU-ETS) will apply to shipping from 2024. This is the result of the drastically extended scope for shipping of the flag-neutral and route-based EU Emission Trading System (EU-ETS) legislation (Direc - tive 2003/87 /EC, last amended by Directive (EU) 2023/959) and its implementing regula - tions, such as EU MRV-Regulation (Regulation (EU)2015/757 on the monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport, as amended in 2023). Central to this regulation is the requirement for a moni - toring plan, evaluation by an external verification entity and approval by the relevant authority. The recent changes include not only the expanded range of greenhouse gases now covered under the MRV Regulation but also the specifications regarding the types and sizes of vessels required to report emissions and the routes on which it
applies or will apply. From 2024, the emissions to be reported will be phased in from 40% in 2024 to 100% in 2028. Wreck Removal The law on wreck removal is extraordinarily com - plicated. The legislation applicable to an incident requiring wreck removal is dependent on: • its location – Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), territorial waters or internal waters; • the type of craft – sea-going vessel, barge or estuary vessel; and • the date of the incident. At present, this difference in applicable rules determines the following: • if the authorities may impose a demand for wreck removal; • if the liability of the authorities is a defence; • if the ship-owner may refuse to execute the order to remove the wreck; • if the ship-owner may limit their responsibility for wreck removal; and • which thresholds apply if responsibility can be limited. Wreck removal of sea-going vessels in Belgian national waters In Belgian national waters (territorial sea and oth - er sea waters), wreck removal is mainly covered by federal legislation. “Mainly” because there is some question as to the authority over the main waterways to the Flemish ports. The 2007 Nairobi Convention on wreck removal and the NBMC apply. The owner of the wreck (a definition that includes the owner, charterer or operator) must remove the wreck and its contents. This is a fundamental
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