I denne henseende fastsætter den internationale konvention om forebyggelse af forurening fra skibe, den såkaldte MARPOL-konvention, internationale standarder for forebyggelse af forurening fra bl.a. olie, spildevand og affald fra skibe.
In this respect the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships, the so called Marpol Convention, sets standards at international level on prevention of pollution by amongst other things, oil, sewage and garbage from ships.