The increase in global marine traffic has resulted in a steep increase in marine pollution. The US and the EU have reacted by raising financial penalties for environmental polluters. Ship owners caught out can be fined up to $1 million in the US, and their ships can be barred from US ports for up to 5 years. Within the EU, France now fines captains guilty of dumping oil in to the sea up to 300 000 Euro. Eberhard Runge from the Hamburg-based company Mahle NFV has spent decades lobbying for better environmental protection at sea. The engineer has developed a filter system that works with ultraviolet light. Now that legislation has been tightened on sea pollution, demand for his technology is growing although the shipping companies are still sceptical.