Publications

Eight to twelve million tons of plastics end up in the oceans every year. One of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Goal 14 on life below water, calls upon states to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris, by 2025. Following China’s ban of all imports of non-industrial plastic wastes in 2018, exports of plastic wastes by high-income countries have shifted to South East Asian countries putting unbearable stress on their waste management systems. Despite worldwide attention devoted to the ocean plastics crisis, these practices are likely to aggravate the problem. It shows that current efforts are not sufficient to achieve the SDG target 14 for marine plastic litter and microplastics.

In Soyer, B. and Tettenborn, A. (Eds.), New technologies, artificial intelligence and shipping in the 21st century, Abingdon, Informa from Routledge, 2020, pp. 90-104

Some considerations on the position of mooring services under the EU Seaports Regulation’, [2019] Porti & Servizi Tecnico Nautici (‘Ports and Technical-Nautical Services’, i.e. the review published by the association of Italian mooring men)

(forthcoming)

[2019] Zeitschrift für europäisches Umwelt- und Planungsrecht (EurUP, i.e. the leading German environmental law journal)

(forthcoming)

(2019) TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR INTERNATIONALE HANDEL EN TRANSPORTRECHT. 2. p.192-210

Nu de vraag naar kostbare metalen steeds meer toeneemt, stijgt ook de belangstelling voor de diepzeebodem en de overvloedige natuurlijke rijkdommen die daar te vinden zijn. De krachtlijnen van het diepzeebodemregime zijn vastgelegd in het Internationaal Zeerechtverdrag en de navolgende Implementatieovereenkomst, maar worden verder uitgewerkt in gedetailleerde regulering van de Internationale Zeebodemautoriteit. De Autoriteit leverde reeds voorschriften af voor de prospectie- en exploratiefase, maar keurde vooralsnog geen exploitatieregels goed. Een ontwerpversie van deze exploitatieregels, waarvan de definitieve goedkeuring in juli 2020 wordt verwacht, werd evenwel al ontwikkeld en vormt een goede indicatie van de huidige stand van zaken en de toekomstige koers. In deze bijdrage wordt nagegaan in welke mate de beoogde exploitatieregels, die in belangrijke mate vorm zullen geven aan het toekomstig diepzeemijnbouwregime, voldoen aan twee van de meest prominente ambities met betrekking tot deze zone, die samen met de aanwezige grondstoffen als gemeenschappelijk erfgoed van de mensheid wordt beschouwd: de bescherming van het marien milieu en de herverdeling van rijkdom. De diverse werkpunten worden geïdentificeerd en mogelijke oplossingen en correcties worden voorgesteld.

(2019) REVUE BELGE DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL = BELGIAN REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. 1. p.81-100

Door de huidige beperkingen van het piraterijregime van het Internationaal Zeerechtverdrag wordt vaak naar andere instrumenten gekeken om enkele problemen te verhelpen en performanter te kunnen ageren tegen piraterij. Eén van de verdragen die binnen deze context vaak genoemd worden, is de SUA Convention: door zijn breed toepassingsgebied en krachtdadig ogende regels wordt dit verdrag als een nuttige aanvulling op het Internationaal Zeerechtverdrag gezien, maar ook andere verdragen kunnen in bepaalde omstandigheden relevant blijken. In dit artikel worden de eigenschappen van deze instrumenten uitvoerig belicht, met een duidelijke analyse van de kwaliteiten en zwaktes, en wordt afgewogen in welke mate deze een meerwaarde kunnen betekenen in de strijd tegen piraterij. Er wordt tevens gereflecteerd over mogelijk samenspel tussen verschillende verdragen: één allesomvattende piraterijconventie mag dan wel de beste optie zijn, maar is niet meer dan een onhaalbare illusie, waardoor dringend moet worden bekeken hoe de bestaande combinatie van instrumenten het best kan worden ingezet.

(2015) Compendium voor kust en zee : een geïntegreerd kennisdocument over de socio-economische, ecologische en institutionele aspecten van de kust en zee in Vlaanderen en België. p.77-100

Tegenwoordig wordt meer dan 90% van de globale handel over de zee vervoerd. In 2013 werden 9,5 miljard ton goederen met zeeschepen vervoerd. De  wereldhandelsvloot bestond eind 2014 uit 87.926 schepen, goed voor een totaal van 1.091,59 miljoen GT. In 2014 telde de handelsvloot van de Europese Unie 13.603 schepen waarvan er 203 Belgisch waren (UNCTAD - Review of Maritime Transport, zie ook lijst Belgische Zeeschepen).
De Belgische zeehavens zijn gesitueerd aan sommige van de drukste scheepvaartroutes ter wereld, met meer dan 150.000 scheepsbewegingen per jaar (Goffin et al. 2007, Vermeersch & Desnouck 2009), in de zogenaamde Le Havre-Hamburg range (met Antwerpen, Gent, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Bremen, Hamburg, Duinkerke en Le Havre als de voornaamste zeehavens). Bij de cijfers van de Vlaamse havens wordt ook de haven van Oostende in rekening gebracht. De totale trafiek in de Le Havre-Hamburg range bedroeg in 2014 1.131 miljoen ton waarbij de Vlaamse zeehavens een marktaandeel bezitten van 23,8% (Merckx & Neyts 2015).
Hieronder wordt in detail ingegaan op het maritiem transport en de scheepvaart in het Belgische deel van de Noordzee (BNZ). Voor de havens worden in het huidig thema enkel de zeehavens (overwegend bestemd voor de behandeling van zeeschepen) in rekening gebracht en worden de vissershavens (ligplaats voor vissersschepen, zie thema Visserij) en jachthavens (ligplaats voor pleziervaartuigen, zie thema Toerisme en recreatie) niet in beschouwing genomen (Jargonlijst website Vlaamse Havencommissie).

(2019) TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR STRAFRECHT. 3. p.138-146

Piraterij betreft een van de oudste internationale misdrijven en groeide in de laatste decennia uit tot een grootschalig misdaadfenomeen dat zich op verschillende plaatsen in de wereld duchtig manifesteerde. Er bestaan echter geen internationale tribunalen of berechtingsmechanismen voor piraterij en de universele jurisdictie leidt tot disparate vervolging in talloze landen. Een nadere kijk op de cijfers wijst uit dat er ruwweg drie bestraffingsculturen kunnen worden ontwaard en dat de strafvariantie enorm is. Berechting van internationale misdaden door diverse nationale rechtbanken leidt veelal niet tot gelijkmatige straffen, maar de afwijkingen binnen de context van piraterij lijken onverantwoord hoog en in combinatie met de veelvuldige overdracht van piraterijverdachten is de willekeur enkel maar groter. Bij het bepalen van de straf wordt over het algemeen met dezelfde elementen en omstandigheden rekening gehouden, maar aan de strafmaat in andere landen wordt amper belang gehecht. In dit artikel wordt afgewogen wat er precies ondernomen kan worden om meer uniformiteit te realiseren en welke strafmaat dan gepast lijkt om piraten te sanctioneren.

(2019) THE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW. 25(3). p.49-55

The current situation regarding responsibility for the prosecution of pirates is a fine example of outsourcing: Western countries dealing with pirate suspects often leave the prosecution and punishment of these individuals to local countries and only take up responsibility in very exceptional cases. This does, however, create problems and seems to jeopardise the traditional perception of pirates as ‘enemies of all mankind’, who should be fought off by the entire international community. At both national and international levels, this article highlights the ongoing issues and evaluates the measures that can be taken to restore the balance and involve more countries in the prosecution of piracy. It appears that the application of universal jurisdiction with regard to piracy offences is sometimes more of a curse than a blessing, which is why a shift of the primary responsibility to bring prosecutions against pirates to the flag state of the ship that has been attacked is worth at least some consideration.

Juristenkrant, mei 2019

Jaarlijks komt 8 à 12 miljoen ton plastiek in zee terecht. Het huidige internationale kader is te vaag en gefragmenteerd om die problematiek een halt toe te roepen. Een nieuw internationaal verdrag gericht op striktere regulering van de globale plastiekproductie, afvalminimalisering en milieuvriendelijk afvalbeheer kan het tij doen keren, meent Jivan Dasgupta van de UGent.

Beyond the boundaries of national jurisdiction, the ocean floor and its resources escape sovereignty claims and are governed by a complex regime, which determines by whom and under what conditions these natural resources can be mined. This regime is formed by part XI and some annexes of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 1994 Implementation Agreement and detailed regulations of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). An important principle is that state-owned enterprises, private companies and natural persons wishing to pursue activities in the Area must be sponsored by the state of which they are nationals. Belgium therefore adopted legislation with regard to deep sea mining in 2013, implementing the international rules and issuing conditions for the granting of a sponsor certificate by the Belgian government. The Belgian legislation sets out a clear procedure and correctly implements the international principles, but there is room for improvement in various areas. This assessment aims to present a general overview of the Belgian legislation on deep sea mining, identify the strengths and weaknesses of both the Belgian law and the royal decree and offer legally underpinned suggestions to improve these.

 The EU Seaports Regulation. A commentary on Regulation (EU) 2017/352 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2017 establishing a framework for the provision of port services and common rules on the financial transparency of ports, Antwerp, Portius Publishing, 2019, 1307 pages (a comprehensive manual on the aforementioned EU Regulation).

Professor Eric Van Hooydonk just published The EU Seaports Regulation, the long-awaited guide to EU Regulation 2017/352. This Regulation, which has applied from 24 March 2019, is the central European legislative framework for the operation of more than 300 seaports of the European Union (and the European Economic Area). The instrument organises the procedures under which port service providers can gain access to the market, the transparency of public port financing, and the levying of port service charges and port infrastructure charges. It also contains provisions on matters such as social protection, user and stakeholder consultation, complaint handling and penalties.

The EU Seaports Regulation provides an authoritative and comprehensive commentary on all provisions of the Regulation, taking into account its genesis, policy context and objectives, as well as the rich EU case law on the related rules of the Treaty and analogous EU legislation. An exhaustive analysis of the Travaux Préparatoires, numerous practical examples and selected references to national law make this book a must, not only for lawyers, but also for port and shipping professionals from both the public and private sectors.

The EU Seaports Regulation has 1,307 pages. In attachment you can check out the outline and detailed table of contents as well as some sample pages and the index.
ISBN 9789463882422
D/2019/14.730/1

Beyond the boundaries of national jurisdiction, the ocean floor and its resources escape sovereignty claims and are governed by a complex regime, which determines by whom and under which conditions these natural resources can be mined. The rules and principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Implementation Agreement with regard to deep sea mining are further developed in regulations and procedures issued by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), governing prospection, exploration and exploitation of deep seabed resources. The Authority already issued rules for the first phases of mining activities (prospection and exploration), but is yet to adopt exploitation regulations. A draft version is however developed and official approval of these exploitation regulations is expected during the summer of 2020. The Draft Exploitation Regulations set out a thoughtful, balanced regime, but there is still room for improvement in various areas. This assessment aims to present a general overview of the discussed rules, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Draft Exploitation Regulations of the International Seabed Authority and offer legally underpinned suggestions to improve these.

(2019) NEDERLANDS TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR DE MENSENRECHTEN. 44(1). p.17-32

Hoewel dit weinig belicht wordt, blijken mensenrechtenbescherming en piraterijbestrijding niet altijd hand in hand te gaan. Enkele recente zaken voor het Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens maakten duidelijk dat de mensenrechtenproblematiek een steeds prominentere rol speelt bij de aanhouding, vervolging en berechting van piraten, maar het is maar de vraag of dit alle staten wakker heeft geschud. In dit artikel wordt nagegaan wanneer detentie van piraterijverdachten het recht op vrijheid van deze individuen schendt en wordt tevens geanalyseerd onder welke omstandigheden een overdracht van piraterijverdachten als een inbreuk op het principe van non-refoulement wordt gezien. De statenpraktijk wordt in kaart gebracht en er wordt afgewogen welke verbeteringen kunnen worden aangebracht om mensenrechtenschendingen in de toekomst te vermijden.

(2018) TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR INTERNATIONALE HANDEL EN TRANSPORTRECHT. 4. p.495-508

Het Internationaal Zeerechtverdrag suggereert dat de vervolgingsverantwoordelijkheid met betrekking tot piraten toekomt aan de vlaggenstaat van het schip dat de piraterijverdachten heeft aangehouden, maar in de praktijk worden veelal plaatselijke landen ingeschakeld om in deze taken te voorzien. Dit fenomeen manifesteert zich voornamelijk in Oost-Afrika, waar westerse oorlogsschepen de aangehouden piraten in principe overdragen aan de Seychellen, Kenia, Mauritius of Tanzania om daar te worden veroordeeld. Dit gebeurt op basis van goed uitgewerkte overeenkomsten, die weinig aan het toeval overlaten, maar het blijft niettemin controversieel of dergelijke overdrachten wel conform het internationaal recht zijn: de inhoud van artikel 105 van het Internationaal Zeerechtverdrag geeft immers aanleiding tot moeilijke discussies en wordt door sommigen beschouwd als een verbod op de ‘outsourcing’ van piraterijvervolging. Los van de vraag naar de wettelijkheid, dient echter ook afgewogen te worden of deze praktijken wel wenselijk zijn, want aan elke overdracht zijn verschillende voor- en nadelen verbonden.

This report contains an analysis of the meetings of the Council of the International Seabed Authority during the first part of the 25th Session.

Tijdschrift voor Veiligheid 2019(18) 1, 35-54.

Until recently, Dutch merchant ships could not rely on privately contracted maritime security staff to protect themselves against pirates. On the one hand, the argument prevailed that the State had to retain the monopoly on the use of force and, on the other hand, one also feared for the escalation of violence or international incidents. Nowadays, however, more and more European countries allow for the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board merchant ships. As a result, the Dutch Parliament has adopted a bill containing rules for the use of armed private security guards on board Dutch maritime merchant ships (Law to Protect Merchant Shipping 2019 (published in the Dutch official Gazette on June 7th, 2019)).
The author addresses the question whether because of the new law a level playing field will emerge with the Merchant Navies from the neighboring Flag States of Belgium, the United Kingdom, Spain and Denmark, presenting a comparative analysis of their domestic legislation.
The Dutch law clearly regulates the use of force and the master has the final responsibility for everything that happens under his authority. In principle, the security guards may only apply violence as the master has determined that it is necessary. Innovative is that there is a reporting obligation whereby every incident should be reported with images and sound recordings. It seems, however, that the law is especially made to protect and secure and not necessarily to provide a solution for situations in which pirates come on board.
It is clear that the intention of the legislator is to leave the monopoly on the use of force in the hands of the State. However, the adoption of this law to protect merchant shipping could constitute a first step in enabling the use of force by other actors than the State, which in itself is groundbreaking. Before being able to go on this road, there are still countless political (mainly related to the sovereignty of a State) and legal challenges (mainly concerning the use of force and respect for human rights) to be addressed.

Keywords
Maritime piracy ; private maritime security company ; PMSC ; vessel protection detachment ; privately contracted armed security personnel ; VPD ; PCASP

Numerous shipwrecks, structures, remains of buildings, prehistoric objects and landscapes are lying scattered across the bottom of oceans worldwide. This underwater cultural heritage forms a crucial part of our identity and offers valuable insights in our past. This heritage, however, faces many threats, including the plundering and damaging of sites by divers and salvors. Because of this, it is crucial that a strong legal framework is in place for the protection and management of underwater cultural heritage. This dissertation analyses the current Belgian legislation for the protection of underwater cultural heritage with the objective to formulate suggestions on how this legislation can be further developed and improved. For this purpose account is taken of the legal framework for underwater cultural heritage at the international level, the European regional level as well as the legal framework in a number of North Sea States being France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS , 2019, volume 2018, pages 17-28.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has agreed in 2018 on a reduction of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping, which should lower the total annual CO2 emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008.
Although extensive studies exist on the impact of international shipping at a global scale, few tools and empirical papers are available to assess the progress made so far in the shift towards carbon clean maritime supply chains. The paper identifies the key factors affecting CO2 emissions by container ships based on extant literature and business insights and measures how much has been already achieved in the past decade by offering multi-trade comparisons of the situations in 2007 and 2016.
The paper concludes to a general decrease in annual CO2 emissions estimated at 33% since 2007. Two factors explain this decrease: first, the CO2 fuel efficiency in grams per TEU-km (−53%) due to the general decrease in speed and change in technology, and second, the decrease from changes in network design leading to less
distance travelled (−21%). One factor counterbalances these positive effects, i.e. the increase in the total deployed fleet capacity, partly due to an increase in the number and average size of vessels (+81%). Finally, the paper discusses how these findings could be used by shippers and logistics service providers when designing
cargo routing solutions in a supply chain setting based on their carbon efficiency.

(2019) MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT, volume 46, pages 24-42.

This paper aims at defining generic characteristics of dry ports by carrying out an analysis using a large sample of dry ports from around the world. The dataset includes details on 107 inland terminals worldwide.
All dry ports in the database have been selected from studies in the extant literature before being shortlisted to fit our research scope. Data collected include terminologies used, actors driving the development, terminal throughput, total area, services provided and the relation with the corresponding seaport(s). Using statistical analysis, the paper examines how dry port parameters are influenced by (1) a different terminal set up, like sea-driven and land-driven development, developed and developing system, dry port functions; (2) specifications of the seaport with which the dry port is connected, i.e. seaport traffic, connectivity,
utilization, etc. and (3) the transport leg linking dry ports and seaports.
The findings could be applied to the planning and development of inland nodes from the perspectives of different stakeholders.

JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT GEOGRAPHY, 2019, vol. 74, pages  371 - 381.

Extant literature echoes that ports with a high transhipment share (T/S), and thus a high dependency on sea-sea transhipment or T/S flows, are vulnerable. It is less clear whether the vulnerability of T/S oriented container ports leads to more throughput volatility compared to gateway ports (i.e. inland-bound cargo) or ports with a mixed cargo base (i.e. T/S and gateway flows). In this perspective, throughput volatility, which denotes the variability or the dispersion of the cargo throughput in a port throughout a given period, is of great concern to port actors.
This paper examines the relationship between throughput volatility in North European and Mediterranean container ports and the sea-sea transhipment  incidence/dependency of these ports. First, we group a large sample of North European and Mediterranean ports in transhipment dependency classes ranging from transhipment ports over mixed ports to gateway ports. Second, we calculate the container throughput volatility between 1990 and 2016 based on two volatility measures. Third, we analyse the relationship between these volatility measures and transhipment incidence. Finally, we compare the results per port group (in terms of transhipment incidence level). The statistical test results show that throughput volatility is much higher for transhipment hubs then for other container ports. This paper also points to some regional market-related elements that explain the observed differences in throughput volatility between port groups. This study can help port planners, managing bodies of ports and terminal operators in their decision-making in the field of container port development and commercial strategies.