European Maritime Transport Environmental Report 2025 EEA-EMSA Joint Report 15/2024 European Environment AgencyKongens Nytorv 61050 Copenhagen KDenmark European Maritime Safety AgencyPraça Europa 4Cais do Sodré1249-206 LisboaPortugal Tel.: +45 33 36 71 00Web:eea.europa.euEnquiries:eea.europa.eu/enquiries Tel: +351 21 1209 200Web:emsa.europa.euContact:information@emsa.europa.eu Legal noticeThe contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of the European Commission or other institutions of the European Union. Neither the European Environment Agency, the European Maritime Safety Agency, nor any person or company acting onbehalf of the Agency is responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in this report. Brexit noticeEEA and EMSA products, websites and services may refer to research carried out prior to the UK′s withdrawal from the EU. Research and data relating to the UK will generally be explained by using terminology such as: ′EU-27 and the UK′ or ′EEA-32 and the UK′. Exceptions tothis approach will be clarified in the context of their use. Copyright notice© European Environment Agency and European Maritime Safety Agency, 2025 This publication is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0). This means that it may be re-used without prior permission, free of charge, for commercial or non-commercialpurposes, provided that the EEA and EMSA are acknowledged as the original source of the material and that the original meaning ormessage of the content is not distorted. For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European EnvironmentAgency or the European Maritime Safety Agency, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective rightsholders. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2025 ISBN 978-92-9480-697-0ISSN 1977-8449doi:10.2800/3162144 Cover design: European Environment AgencyCover photo: © Casarsa Guru, Getty ImagesLayout: European Environment Agency Commissioners’ welcome5Foreword7Acknowledgements8Executive summary and key messages91Introduction171.1Aim and objective171.2From EMTER 2021 to EMTER 2025181.3State of the maritime transport traffic and trade182Trends, status and prospects252.1Emissions to the atmosphere252.1.1Greenhouse gases252.1.2Air pollutants402.1.3Air quality in ports592.2Water pollution622.2.1Oil spills622.2.2Discharge waters and contaminants662.2.3Ballast waters and non-indigenous species (NIS)712.2.4Underwater radiated noise762.3Marine litter and waste delivery at ports832.3.1Marine litter, passively fished waste, and container loss.832.3.2Waste reception at ports912.3.3Ship recycling942.4Hazards and physical disturbance of seabed982.4.1Collisions with animals982.4.2Physical disturbance of the seabed1032.4.3Seabed disturbance: A special focus on ports1073Achieving decarbonisation targets1123.1An EU basket of measures1133.1.1EU Emission Trading System1133.1.2FuelEU Maritime Regulation1133.1.3Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation1133.1.4Renewable Energy Directive1143.1.5Energy Taxation Directive115 3.2Climate neutral energy solutions115 3.2.1Biofuels1153.2.2Methanol1153.2.3Hydrogen1163.2.4Synthetic fuels1173.2.5Ammonia1183.2.6Wind propulsion1193.2.7Batteries1213.2.8Fuel cells1223.2.9Nuclear propulsion1223.2.10Onboard carbon capture and storage1233.2.11Onshore Power Supply124 3.3Energy transition foresight1253.3.1CO2emissions outlook1253.3.2Roadmap to energy transition in 2030 and 20501283.3.3Green corridors1353.3.4Human element and seafarer training outlook136 4.1Gaps1374.2The role of research and innovation1384.3A new integrated monitoring infrastructure140 Abbreviations References 146 Annex 1Regulatory and monitoring frameworks163A1.1Emissions to the atmosphere163A1.1.1Greenhouse gases163A1.1.2Air quality and depletion of the ozone layer166 A1.2Water pollution173A1.2.1Contaminants and oil spills173A1.2.2Discharge waters176A1.2.3Ballast water and non-indigenous species178 A1.4.2Physical disturbance of the seabed186 Commissioners’ welcome Dear reader, This second edition of theEuropean Maritime Transport Environmental Report(EMTER) is brought to you by the European Maritime Safety Agency and the EuropeanEnvironment Agency. It is an honour for us to introduce it together. Three quarters of our international trade is carried by sea, making maritime transportan economic engine in the European Union (EU). It has also proven itself able toprovide timely and fitting responses to crisis situations, such as the COVID-19pandemic and the energy crisis. And of course, shipping plays a crucial role inensuring cohesion within the Union, by linking the continent to our islands, remoteand ultraperipheral regions. Shipping carries more than two thirds of intra-EU freight flows, and does soefficiently, in terms of energy consumption. But we can still do better. For theclimate an