​BALTIC SEA AREA – A MARPOL 73/78 SPECIAL AREA.
What Is The Baltic Sea Area Geographically?
The Baltic Sea Area Comprises The Baltic Sea Proper, Plus The Gulf Of Bothnia, The Gulf Of Finland, And The Entrance To The Baltic Sea Bounded By The Parallel Of The Skaw In The Skagerrak At 57 44.43’N. With A Total Area Of About 370,000 Km2, The Baltic Sea Area Is One Of The World’s Largest Brackish Water Basins.
Why Is It Important To Protect The Baltic Area?
The Baltic Sea Area Has Always Been Of Great Importance To The People Living Around It, Providing A Natural Bond As Well As Routes Of Navigation. Fisheries Remain A Valuable Part Of People’s Livelihood And The Baltic Sea Area Is Also A Recreational Resource Of Growing Value.Because Of The Very Specific Hydrographical, Chemical And Physical Conditions Of The Baltic Sea Area, And Its Geological History, It Possesses Quite Unusual Fauna And Flora. Marine And Freshwater Organisms Live Side By Side, And There Is A Number Of Living Relicts. The Exchange Of Water In The Baltic Sea Is Very Slow, And If Harmful Substances Are Introduced They Will Remain There For A Very Long Time.As The Fauna And Flora Of The Baltic Sea Area Are Extremely Sensitive To Changes In Their Environment There Should Be No Discharges Of Harmful Substances, Especially Oil And Noxious Liquid Substances, Into This Vulnerable Sea.
What Are The Conventions In Place To Protect The Baltic Sea?
The Pollution Prevention Regulations To Protect The Marine Environment Of The Baltic Sea Area From Pollution, Every Ship Entering The Area Is Urged To Comply With The Anti-pollution Regulations Of The HELSINKI CONVENTION. This Applies To All Ships, Irrespective Of Whether Or Not They Are Flying The Flag. The Helsinki Convention Growing Awareness That National Measures Alone Are Not Sufficient To Protect This Highly Sensitive Marine Environment Led The Baltic Sea States To Adopt The HELSINKI CONVENTION (Convention On The Protection Of The Marine Environment Of The Baltic Sea Area), Which Was Signed In 1974 And Came Into Force In 1980. The 1974 Convention Was The First International Agreement Worldwide To Take Into Account All Aspects Of Marine Environment Protection.The Convention Aims To Prevent Pollution From Ships (including Dumping), Pollution From Land-based Sources, And Pollution Resulting From The Exploration And Exploitation Of The Seabed And Its Subsoil. The Convention Also Regulates The Co-operation To Respond To Marine Pollution By Oil And Other Harmful Substances. A Revised Convention Was Signed In 1992 In Order To Extend, Strengthen And Modernize The Legal Regime For The Protection Of The Marine Environment Of The Baltic Sea Area.The 1992 HELSINKI CONVENTION Entered Into Force On 17 January 2000.
In Accordance With The International Convention For The Prevention Of Pollution From Ships, 1973, As Modified By The Protocol Of 1978 Relating Thereto (MARPOL 73/78), Under Which The Baltic Sea Area Has Been Designated As A Special Area (regarding Annexes I, Oil, And V, Garbage), Far-reaching Prohibitions And Restrictions On Any Discharge Into The Sea Of Oil Or Oily Mixtures And Garbage Have Been Introduced By The Baltic Sea States.The Discharges Of Noxious Liquid Substances Are Also Strictly Regulated. In Addition, Regulations Concerning The Discharge Of Sewage Into The Sea And The Prohibition Of Incineration Of Shipgenerated Wastes In The Territorial Seas Of The Baltic Sea States Have Been Adopted By The Contracting Parties To The HELSINKI CONVENTION. There Is Also A General Ban On Dumping And Incineration Of Other Wastes, Not Incidental To Or Derived From The Normal Operation Of Ships, In The Entire Baltic Sea Area.
The Discharge Regulations Must Be Strictly Observed Owing To The Vulnerable Marine Environment Of The Baltic Sea Area And In Order To Keep The Shorelines And Beaches Clean.
What Are The Pollution Prevention Meausers For Oil And Cargo Waste Discharges In Place At Baltic Sea?
The Discharge Regulations Are As Follows:
And Refined Products.The Prohibition Applies Not Only To Discharges From The Cargo Tanks Of Oil Tankers But Equally To Discharges From The Machinery Spaces Of Any Ship. Only If The Oil Content In The Effluent Does Not Exceed 15 Parts Per Million Can A Discharge Be Permitted. For Ships Of 400 Gross Tonnage And Above The Oil Filtering Equipment Must Be Provided With Arrangements That Ensure That Any Discharge Of Oil Or Oily Mixtures Is Auto-matically Stopped When The Oil Content In The Effluent Exceeds 15 Parts Per Million. Ships Of Less Than 400 Tons Gross Tonnage, Lfying The Flag Of A Baltic Sea State, Should Comply With Adopted Guidelines Concern-ing Holding Tanks/oily Water Separating Or Filtering Equipment.
Finland Has Prohibited The Use Of Bilge Water Separators In Her Inland Waterways And In The Territorial Waters, Within The Area 4 Nautical Miles From The Nearest Land. Any Discharge Of Oil Or Oily Mixtures Into The Baltic Sea Area Is Prohibited. Oil Means Petroleum In Any Form Includ-ing Crude Oil, Fuel Oil, Sludge, Oil Refusepre-wash Procedure Must Be Applied And Similarly The Residue Must Be Discharged To A Reception Facility Until The Tank Is Empty. There Is A Prohibition On Discharges From Tanks That Have Contained Category X,Y Or Z Substances, Specified By IMO’s Inter-national Bulk Chemical Code, Which Cat-egorizes Noxious Liquid Substances (NLS) Carried In Bulk According To Their Magni-tude Of Harm To The Marine Environment If Discharged, Unless Specific Provisions Of Annex II "Regulations For The Control Of Pollution By Noxious Liquid Substances In Bulk" To MARPOL 73/78 Are Met. Tanks Having Contained Category X Substances Must Be Pre-washed Before A Ship Leaves The Port Of Unloading And The Resultant Tank Washings Must Be Delivered To A Reception Facility.The Concentra-tion Of The Substance In The Effluent To The Facility Must Be At Or Below 0.1% By Weight And The Tank Must Be Fully Emptied.
For High-viscosity Or Solidifying Substances In CategoryY The Specified The Cargo Residues In CategoryY Or Z Must Be Removed To Specified Small Quantities And Any Tank Washings Must Be Discharged To A Reception Facility Of The Port Of Unloading Or Another Port With A Suitable Reception Facility Provided That It Has Been Confirmed That A Reception Facil-ity At That Port Is Available And Is Adequate For Such A Purpose. The Eventual Discharge Of Any Residues Of Substances In Category X,Y Or Z Into The Sea Must Comply With Specific Provisions For Each Substance Category On The Speed Of The Ship, Discharge Below The Waterline, Distance From The Nearest Land And Depth Of Water. The Carriage And Discharge Into The Sea Of Noxious Liquid Substances Which Have Not Been Categorized, Provisionally Assessed Or Evaluated, Or Of Ballast Water, Tank Washings, Or Other Residues Or Mixtures Containing Such Substances Is Prohibited.
What Is The Regulation For Disharge Of Sewage In The Area?
For Ships Engaged In International Voyages In The Baltic Sea Area, Of 400 Gross Ton-nage And Above Or Which Are Certified To Carry More Than 15 Persons Regulations On sewage From Ships Is Prohibited Within 12 Nautical Miles Of The Nearest Land Unless Sewage Has Been Comminuted And Disinfected Using An Approved System And The Distance From The Nearest Land Is Longer Than 3 Nautical Miles. In Any Case, When Discharging From A Sewage Holding Tank, The Discharge Must Be At A Moderate Rate And The Ship Must Be Proceeding En Route At A Minimum Speed Of 4 Knots. Only If A Sewage Treat-ment Plant, Approved According To The Requirements Of IMO, Is Used Onboard, Can The Discharge Take Place At Any Dis-tance From The Nearest Land. surveys And Certification Of Annex IV "Regulations For The Prevention Of Pollu-tion By Sewage From Ships" To MARPOL 73/78 Also Apply.
Explain The Regulations Laid Down For Garbage?
The Discharge Of Garbage In The Baltic Sea Area Is Prohibited. However, Food Wastes May Be Discharged, But In Any Case Not Less Than 12 Nautical Miles From The Nearest Land. Incineration Means The Deliberate Combustion Of Wastes Or Other Matter At Sea For The Purpose Of Their Thermal Destruction, Excluding Activities Incidental To The Normal Operation Of Ships Or Other Man-made Structures.The Baltic Sea Has Been Designated As A SOx Emission Control Area Which Requires That All Ships Navigating In Its Waters Use Fuel Oil With A Sulphur Content Not Exceeding 1.5% M/m Or An Exhaust Gas Cleaning System/any Other Technical Method Reducing The Total Emissions Of Sulphur Oxides From Ships Ensuring The Same Level Of Efficiency.A Bunker Delivery Note Accompanied By A Representative Sample Of The Delivered Fuel Oil Should Be Kept On Board The Ship For Inspection And According To Annex VI "Regulations For Prevention Of Air Pollution From Ships" To MARPOL 73/78. In Accordance With Annex VI Deliberate Emissions Of Ozone-depleting Substances Is Prohibited.
Incineration, Except For The Incineration Of Ship-generated Wastes, Is Prohibited Throughout The Baltic Sea Area. However, The Incineration Of Wastes Deriving From The Normal Operation Of The Ship Is Also Prohibited In The Territorial Seas Of The Baltic Sea States.