Shipping and Ports

The shipping routes in the North Sea are some of the most heavily used in the world. The interactions between these human activities and the Wadden Sea World Heritage will also increase as traffic is expected to increase in the coming years and as major shipping ports are located along the Wadden Sea coast. 

Shipping is an international industry characterised by freedom of navigation. Standards for safety and pollution prevention are therefore set at the global level by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The role of the IMO is visible in the Wadden Sea region through the creation of ship routing measures (including traffic separation systems) and the PSSA. As members of the IMO and the EU, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark implement international regulations, transposing EU directives on shipping and ports into national legislation and adopting their own legislation.

The database inventories the relevant regulations applicable to shipping and port activities at the international, European, trilateral, national and local levels. It brings together regulations that are otherwise dispersed among international and regional organisations and countries. It aims to provide a detailed overview of the legal framework applicable to shipping and ports and facilitates the analysis or comparison of regulations. It also provides a basis for reflection on how to improve environmental protection in the Wadden Sea. A short description is given for each regulation and filters can be applied to narrow down the search.