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Happy 2016 to you, dear reader. We hope your new year will be full of joyful learning, interesting opportunities and intense pleasure in everything you will undertake.

Mauro Palmiero, national president of ANSEP-UNITAM, the National Italian Association of companies carrying out environmental services in ports and harbours and the protection of the marine environment, passed away on June 22.

2014 was a transitional year. Although volumes in ports were picking up, the overall maritime business climate is still slacking. We noticed shipping lines have started to consolidate and/or collaborate to reduce costs and optimize their vessel size on certain trade lanes. But, though charter prices increased modestly, experts do not predict a significant growth of volumes in this year.

The polluter pays: on this principle the CDNI Treaty governing the waste from inland navigation is based. The Treaty deals with the different aspects of waste collection, disposal and treatment for river barges sailing in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Apart from the publication of the ship recycling regulation (cfr. further in this issue), 2013 saw little or no progress in European marine environmental legislation, even though EU-regulations concerning ship generated waste and cargo residues are long overdue. With the EU elections this coming May, 2014 promises to do no better than the last year, as all legislative initiatives will have to wait till the new EU Commission will have settled in.