The European Commission has announced a raft of proposals to improve and modernise safety in maritime and reduce pollution.

The proposals include measures to prevent any type of illegal discharges into European seas, and will see an extension of the range of substances classified as polluting to include discharges of harmful substances carried in packaged form, sewage and garbage.

The proposals specifically identify discharge waters and residues from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (scrubbers) as polluting substances.