The growing globalization of the European economy has led to a considerable increase in international trade transport (80% of total transport), both between EU member states and non EU countries. As a result, seaports have converted into major industrial centers often adjoining large urbanized zones, where the needs of the local population exert continual pressure on already vulnerable coastal ecosystems. These factors are exacerbated in the Mediterranean because of the high pollution rates.The ports themselves have become highly complex centers where, alongside traditional loading and offloading operations, new installations carry out goods processing and industrial transformation as well as cargo storage operations. This gives them a new important role in the production and consumer chain and creates new needs to minimize environmental risks in their installations and processes. It also makes port management an increasingly complex task with the need to negotiate between a great variety of actors: port and maritime authorities, customs, Health and Safety Inspectorate, transport and storage companies, shipping lines, etc. All these factors make it increasingly urgent that ports develop detailed environmental management strategies. In this context, the Environmental Management System (EMAS) promoted by the CEE regulation 1836/93, which allows industrial companies to adhere to the community system of environmental management and audit on a voluntary basis, offers one of the most useful tools. The main attraction of the system is that whilst it remains a voluntary code, it provides a systematic, objective and well-documented evaluation of the management function, compatible with other environment management systems and regulated at a European level. As it is based on principles of continuous improvement it facilitates the development of an integrated knowledge management systems at the heart of the port’s operations.