The Georgian Environmental Protection Ministry’s Department of Environmental Supervision on Wednesday said a Panamanian-flagged vessel had been fined GEL 100,000 after the body's professionals identified pollution of Black Sea waters by its crew.
The body said the ship had discharged agricultural waste, resulting in environmental damage of over GEL 20,000.
The Poti City Court in western Georgia’s port city found the crew guilty of violation of environmental regulations and imposed the penalty, with the vessel permitted to leave Georgian territorial waters after paying the fine and compensating for the environmental damage.
The Department noted detecting and preventing marine pollution remained its “priority”, adding two cases of pollution by foreign-flagged vessels had been detected so far this year, following on 16 incidents recorded in 2024.
