Tough new limits on the maximum sulphur content of shipping fuels will come into effect in Europe at the end of the decade, after EU governments agreed on draft legislation on Wednesday.

Air pollution from marine fuels with a high sulphur content is estimated to cause 50,000 premature deaths a year in Europe, the European Parliament has said.

"This is excellent news for our health and the environment, especially in ports and coastal areas," EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said in a statement.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to allow a controversial US ship to head to Alang in Gujarat for dismantling after an NGO pointed out that the vessel was required to give prior intimation of its decontamination. The ship, Oriental Nicety, was refused permission to enter Indian waters after NGO Research Foundation for Science pointed out that the credentials of the ship were doubtful as the ship itself was a hazardous waste. Earlier called Exxon Valdez, the ship was involved in one of the worst oil spills off Alaska in 1986.

The shipping industry needs a "common, global roadmap" on environmental issues such as emissions to prevent imbalances in world trade, according to the president of the Baltic and International Maritime Council, Yudhishthir D Khatau, speaking at a press conference in Singapore.

FedEx Express Envelope, made from 100 per cent recycled content, is getting another environmentally-friendly boost.

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, is launching a carbon-neutral shipping programme for its most widely used packaging solution for document shipping at no extra charge to the customer, the company said.

FedEx Express will make an investment in projects around the world that displace or sequester greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. The initiative is recognised as part of EarthSmart®, FedEx sustainability programme.

The owners of a stricken container ship wrecked on a reef off a popular New Zealand holiday spot have been charged with causing the country's worst environmental disaster in decades, maritime officials said on Thursday.

Daina Shipping, a unit of Greece's Costamare Inc., has been charged with discharging harmful substances after its 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged ship Rena struck a reef about 20 km (12 miles) off Tauranga, New Zealand's biggest export port, in early October.

New Delhi: After a carbon tax was levied on aviation by the European Union (EU), the government is now preparing for a possible trade war with the European Commission (EC) imposing a similar tax on shipping business as well. The move can increase freight rates by 3%-15%. With the EU mulling a tax on the shipping industry that will impose a levy based on carbon emissions on ships entering European waters, the Indian government has prepared a policy document to examine impacts of such a move and list measures to retaliate what it sees as a unilateral move.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is making little headway on market-based measures to curb carbon dioxide emissions from international shipping, putting it on a policy collision course with the European Union, observers said.

A committee of the 170-member United Nations shipping body was unable to make "tangible progress" after a week of talks that ended late on Friday, a delegate told Reuters.

Legislators in the European Parliament backed plans on Thursday to limit the maximum sulfur content of shipping fuels to 0.1 percent in some cases, meaning ships would need to switch fuels or be fitted with exhaust filters.

"Urgent action is needed to stem the rapid growth in pollution from shipping, with air pollutant emissions from shipping expected to outstrip land-based emissions by 2020," Satu Hassi, a Finnish MEP who is co-drafting the measure said.