The Cabinet of Ministers has brought the “Rules for Protecting Inland Marine Waters from Pollution” in line with the basic international conventions on shipping safety. The relevant government resolution, No. 492, was adopted on 7 July, the press service of the Federation of Transport Employers of Ukraine (FTEU) announced in a statement.
The abovementioned rules introduce a number of concepts such as "segregated ballast," "dirty ballast," "clean ballast," and "water containing pollutants." They also specify the cases in which segregated ballast is to be inspected (in cases in which there are obvious traces of pollution to identify the source of contamination).
According to the federation, the basis for engaging in corruption under the guise of chemical control of ships’ segregated ballast has finally been eliminated and environmental inspectors can no longer arbitrarily interpret the regulations on control of ships in ports.
For a long time, almost two years, the federation sought to eradicate corruption under the pretext of chemical control of segregated ballast. The "earnings" of ecologists through such illegal schemes are estimated to total at least USD 25 million dollars per year.
The first step toward scrapping the schemes was the Ministry of Ecology’s order No. 82 pf 18 March 2015. This order amended the Provision on Ecological Control at Border Crossings and Customs Areas. However, a decision by the country’s main executive body - the Cabinet of Ministers - was required.
