Many ships dock at a port in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: zjzsrbs]

To date, more than 1,100 fishing vessels in Daishan county, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province have been equipped with oily water separators in order to protect the marine environment, according to the latest data released by local government.

The oily water stored in the separators will be collected and disposed of by local departments in charge of marine environment protection, said Zheng Yiheng, a local official in charge of ship management in the county.

Zheng added that the county government plans to install oily water separators on more ships.

An oily water separator is a piece of equipment which is usually installed on a ship and is used to separate oil and water mixtures from seawater. It can protect seawater from being polluted by oily water discharged by the ship.

Oily water is difficult to degrade and harmful to marine organisms if directly dumped into the sea, said experts in the area of marine environment protection.

In addition, local law enforcement departments have carried out over 220 maritime patrols to protect the sea from oily water and other pollutants. A total of 74 illegal cases were filed for further investigation.