It has been acknowledged that most international regulations were triggered by a series of tanker disasters that had devastating effects on the marine environment. One way to better protect the aquatic environment is the proactive response of the member states of the various international organisations to expedite the ratification procedures for international conventions, mainly the International Maritime Organization (IMO) legal instruments. Every time this is achieved, ship owners become more responsible for protecting the marine environment, regardless of the economic costs involved. Following this path, ship owners will be obliged to cooperate with competent authorities when a vessel calls at a port for the loading, discharging, bunkering, repairing and other secondary operations, to counter the possible threat of emerging pollution. This paper focuses on issues that are mostly related to the amendments of Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention, which deal explicitly with air pollution. The paper also examines the relationship between technological innovations, the existing regulations and the environmental threats posed by carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds, and methods to deal with sulphur reduction.