Inland tankers may not degass in the Biesbosch Natura 2000 area
without a permit. A new stick behind the door to implement
a total ban on sailing degassing. That concludes Nyenrode
Business University in a study. ‘A total ban solves all problems.’
December 15, 2025, 07:34
Photo for illustration. An inland tanker on the Hartel Canal. Photo ANP/ Hollandse Hoogte/ MediaTV
The research by Nyenrode Business University focuses on two
problem situations where economic interests and nature interests clash.
One of those situations concerns inland tankers that degass in the
Biesbosch, a Natura 2000 area. For nature-disturbing activities in
a Natura 2000 area, a permit must be applied for.
Professor Tineke Lambooy and Associate Professor Antoinette Hildering
discovered in the research that actually nobody is aware of this.
The final research will be published early next year, but
at the end of November they already revealed the first findings.
Text continues below the photo
Antoinette Hildering (l) and Tineke Lambooy (2nd from right) during the presentation at the end of
November.
‘It was striking that everyone we spoke with advocates for a total ban
on sailing degassing’, says Lambooy. The researchers spoke with all
stakeholders around the degassing problem. Currently there is a
phased ban on sailing degassing. Inland tankers degass
when they switch cargo. The cheapest way is to do this while sailing,
causing chemicals to enter the air, water and soil. For a
number of substances this has been banned since July 1, 2024. The final phase of the CDNI
ban on sailing degassing will take effect on October 1, 2027. But not
all substances fall under that.
Phase 4
This means that inland tankers will continue to degass in practice,
but are not allowed to do so in the Biesbosch nature area. This makes it
difficult for the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate and the Environmental Service to properly enforce the ban. A total ban provides clarity
for everyone: the skippers, the shippers and the enforcers, argue the
researchers.
‘Phase 3 should be implemented as soon as possible and then also, as we
call it, phase 4: a total ban’, explains Hildering. ‘It saves fuss,
administrative hassle and difficult enforcement. For shippers, a
total ban provides clarity that skippers comply with laws and
regulations. In addition, a total ban creates a business case for
commercial degassing installations.’ It is in line with what whistleblower Ton
Quist has long argued: a total ban is the only solution.
It is also the only correct solution to the additional problem that Lambooy and
Hildering point out in the research: applying for permits in a
Natura 2000 area. ‘That is a new stick behind the door’, says
Lambooy. ‘It cannot be ruled out that there will otherwise be lawsuits’, adds
Hildering. It only makes sailing degassing in the current way even
more complicated. Lambooy: ‘This too can be remedied with a
total ban. It creates clarity.’