Maritime alliance tackles ocean plastic
Leading shipping industry companies have co-founded the Maritime Association for Clean Seas (MACS) aided by Seven Clean Seas.
To help address the reported 14Mt of plastic entering oceans every year, the MACS will focus on reducing plastic waste generated by the maritime sector and recovering ocean plastic.
The companies aim to do this by advancing best practices, innovation and collaboration across the maritime value chain to reduce incidents such as isolated cargo losses and poor waste handling on board or at quayside.
Founding members Berge Bulk, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), X-Press Feeders and Britoil Offshore Services represent a cross-section of the global maritime sector, from bulk carriers and ship management to offshore operations.
Three key focuses for the alliance in 2026 will be sustainable procurement and material use, vessel waste measurement and reduction, and improved portside waste reception.
The initiative builds on the International Maritime Organisation’s existing Action Plan to Address Marine Litter from Ships, which was first adopted in 2018, has had an update in 2025 and outlines measures to be completed by 2030.
Tom Peacock-Nazil, Founder and Chairman of the MACS, says, ‘With [the] MACS, we’re providing the maritime industry with the tools it needs to make measurable progress against plastic pollution. Not in isolation, but together.’
Much of the SCS’s work focuses on tackling plastic pollution at its sources, operating in some of the most polluted coastal regions globally. It also develops holistic, certified ocean plastic recovery projects, seeking to deliver fair employment and community impact on top of clean-up efforts.
The MACS is continuing to accept members who wish to play an active role in shaping a cleaner, more sustainable future for the maritime industry and the oceans that sustain it.
