Abstract

The most considerable purpose of waste management plans and reception facilities is to reduce and eliminate dumping wastes illegally to the sea environment. Many examples have already demonstrated that unsatisfactory waste handling and/or even illegal dumping take place in many ports around the world due to inefficient waste management operations, lack of control, recovery systems and inefficient information flow [1]. Especially the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) and European Council Directive on port reception facilities for ship generated waste and cargo residues, which requests ports to prepare and implement port waste management plans, provide on international framework on management of ship and port wastes.

Key Words

MARPOL, Waste, Ship waste, Port waste management.

I. Introduction

The protection of the world's oceans from pollution is an environmental issue of immense international concern. By analysing the actual individual samples, it has been deduced that merchant shipping accounts for 15-35% of the total waste. It has also been estimated that 65% of waste came from fishery vessels. Oil is the most widely publicised  and studied form of pollution from shipping which is estimated to contribute approximately 45% of the total anthropogenic oil inputs into the marine environment [2]. In recent years, developing a Port Waste Management Plan and establishing an efficient ship waste handling system designed to ensure proper waste management services in compliance with national and international legislation attracts a great deal of interest for ports.

Waste management planning and its implementation is an important economic, environmental, technical and administrative issue for national and international agendas. As in the case of ports, port waste management planning and its implications form a rapidly growing subject of interest in the city management context. Because ports are sources of considerable volumes of valuable wastes, (see appendix for generation of sludge, domestic and operational waste and cargo associated waste) [3], one of the main subjects of local authorities dealing with urban sustainable development matters is ship and port waste management. However, according to the related national and international regulations ports expose good examples as the best examples of practices for sustainable waste management efforts within their distinct determined jurisdictions.

Regulations set by MARPOL (73/78) and especially the Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues already stipulate that ports should provide reception facilities for vessels to safely dispose and manage various types of wastes. National port authorities have to prepare waste management plans and adjust port operations to meet these international standards. National statutes, regulations and directives must also be aligned with regard to the strategies for the integrated sustainable waste management of ship and port wastes. This strategy, within the legal framework, should be designed to ensure measures providing financial and operational incentives and enabling economical and environmentally successful implementation of port waste management plans. However, many ports especially in developing countries have not met related  standards yet.

II. Legislation and Definitions

MARPOL Regulations

The 1973 Convention for the Prevention of Pollution by Ships and its amending Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78 or MARPOL), is specific and detailed international regulation designed to limit and prohibit certain types of vessel-source pollution on a global scale. The integrated Convention/Protocol functions to regulate marine pollution through six annexes, as summarised in Table 1, govern particular types of ocean discharges.

Table 1. MARPOL Regulations Relating to Reception Facilities [4]

A series of annexes (I - V) cover pollution by oil, noxious liquids, harmful substances in packaged form, sewage and garbage. Annex VI, which has been adopted recently but not yet entered into force, aims at extending the regulations to cover air pollution from ships. These regulations have been developed over a number of years and are in place, but there is significant concern over their real workability. MARPOL Regulations for the provision of reception facilities for ship generated waste are installed in national legislation. These national regulations require port authorities and terminal operators to provide reception facilities for ships which are using the port or terminals in general. However, the facilities must be adequate to meet the needs of ships using them without causing them undue delay [5].

2000/59EC EU Directive

A fundamental element of the council directive on port reception facilities for ship generated waste and cargo residues, is the obligation to develop waste reception and handling plans in all ports for the reception and treatment of ships’ waste and residues. This plan requires ports first to estimate the needs of the ships normally visiting them and secondly to take appropriate measures to meet those needs. Ports are, also, required to encourage the use of facilities by ensuring that they meet the needs of the users without causing undue delay to the ships using them, that they have a good service performance and that delivery of waste does not involve time-consuming formalities for ships and their crew. It is obviously important that the crew of the vessel co-operates with the operator of the reception facility in order to ensure a smooth operation [6]. The Directive on port reception facilities has exactly the same objective as MARPOL 73/78, namely, to protect the marine environment. The main features of the Directive are [7]:

·         Each community port shall have a waste management and handling plan;

·         Each community port shall ensure that there are adequate waste reception facilities for vessels normally calling at a port; 

·         All ships calling at a port must land their ship-generated waste unless they have enough storage capacity for the waste to be delivered at a subsequent port;

·         The cost of the port reception facilities shall be covered through the collection of fees from ships. The amount and the basis on which the fees have been calculated should be made clear for the port users.

·         The fees should be fair, transparent, non-discriminatory and reflect the costs of the facilities and services made available.

Ship and Port Waste Management

Although the management of ship and port wastes poses as highly drawing attention from local authorities respect to sustainable and integrated manner in notable developed countries’ cities, environmentally and technically unacceptable waste management practices and even informal waste management activities  resulting  in the deterioration of the coastal environment are still being kept in practice. Ship and port waste management briefly refers to the waste generated on board and by activities in the port area.

A Port Waste Management Plan

The port waste management plan shall describe the waste streams, handling routines and provide clear instructions for the port users. The requirements for port reception facilities vary between ports and countries, but during the last few years emphasis has been put on more precise and stricter requirements.

Ship generated waste means all waste, including sewage, and other residues, other than cargo residues, which are generated during the service of the ship and fall under the scope of Annexes I, IV and V of MARPOL 73/78 and cargo associated waste as defined in the guidelines for the implementation of Annex V of MARPOL 73/78. Definition of Annex V Garbage is: Garbage means all kinds of victual, domestic and operational waste excluding fresh fish and parts thereof, generated during the normal operation of the ship and liable to be disposed of continuously or periodically except those substances which are defined or listed in other Annexes to the present MARPOL Convention.

Cargo associated waste refers to materials such as dunnage, shoring, pallets, lining, packing materials, plywood, paper, cardboard, wire and steel strapping etc. Cargo residues mean the remnants of any cargo remaining on board, in cargo holds or tanks after unloading procedures and cleaning operations are completed and shall include loading/unloading excesses and spillage.

Garbage from ships means food waste, plastic, domestic waste, cargo associated waste, maintenance waste (such as soot, machinery deposits, scraped paint, deck sweeping, wiping wastes, rags etc.) dishwater, …

Ports mean all ports, harbors, terminals and marinas.

Ship means a vessel of any type what so ever operating in the marine environment and includes fishing vessels, recreational craft, hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles and floating craft.

Sewage means drainage and other wastes from any form of toilets, urinals, and wc scuppers; drainage from medical premises (dispensary, sick bay, etc.) via wash basins, wash tubs and scuppers located in such premises; drainage from spaces containing living animals; or other waste waters when mixed with the drainage defined above.

The plan refers only to facilities provided for ships’ waste under the MARPOL Regulations and operations associated with the provision of those facilities. Arrangements for waste arising at the port from non-shipping activities are not detailed in the plan [8].

Briefly, A Port Waste Management Plan actually should refer to legal aspects; Organisation aspects; Effective ship waste handling procedures; Responsibilities; Cost recovery system; Waste registration procedures; Communication procedures; Control and enforcement procedures; Ownership of reception facilities; Technical installations and reception facilities; Conceptual maintenance plan.

III. Conclusion

The development and implementation of waste management plans in ports and other coastal establishments presents the most effective means of minimizing and avoiding the potential consequences of operational and illegal discharges of oil and garbage from ships on the marine environment. In Turkey, to date, no significant initiatives have been taken in the field of port waste management. Actually, related sectors does not seem to have realized the importance of the subject. As the shipping in the country increases due to various factors, the amount and variety of wastes produced in ports increases accordingly. Consequently, port waste management needs to be addressed in an integrated and systematic way to ensure not only an environmental protection or a viable economic infrastructure but also an acceptable operational methods to fulfil the international requirements.

Appendix

Waste production of MARPOL Annex I, ship generated.

Generation of sludge

Different sources indicate that About 2% of the daily heavy fuel oil (hfo) consumption can be estimated to remain as sludge and about 0,5 % of the daily marine diesel oil (mdo) consumption.

Table 1. Sludge generation rate in % of daily fuel oil consumption

Waste production of MARPOL Annex V, ship-generated

Domestic and operational waste

The amount of domestic waste generated depends on board of all ships on the number of crew members. It is independent of the vessel type. Deck waste is independent of the number of crew, but in this study included in a general waste generation rate per person per day. The domestic and deck waste generation is independent of the number of sailing days. Cargo associated waste depends on the type of vessel, the type of cargo, securing and care of the cargo and the handling of the cargo in port.

Table 2. Domestic and operational waste generation rates

Cargo associated waste

Table 3. Cargo associated waste

Cargo associated waste contains the information how much cargo associated waste on board of different types of vessels can be expected. General cargo ships do have the highest generation rate because they usually need a lot of wood to secure the cargo.

References

[1] Carl Bro International a/s, Port Waste Management Plans, http://www.carlbro.dk, 21.04.2003.

[2]        EC, The EMARC Project, MARPOL Rules and Ship Generated Waste, Directorate-General for Transport Directorate Development of Transport Policy, Research and Development VII-E, WA-95-SC-097, p. 29-30.

[3]        ESPO Marine Committee Sub Committee on Waste Management Plans (2000). A Waste Management Plan for Ship Generated Waste, January 2000-00059, p. 23-26.

[4]        Associated British Ports, ABP, Ports of Grimsby & Immingham (1998). Waste Management Plan for Ship Generated Waste, Third Draft, July, p. 6; the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/OCPD/marpol.html, 16.05.2002.

[5]        Associated British Ports, ABP, Port of Southampton (2000). Waste Management Plan for Ship Generated Waste (Web Edition), p. 2.

[6]        ESPO Marine Committee Sub Committee on Waste Management Plans (2000). A Waste Management Plan for Ship Generated Waste, January 2000-00059, p. 1.

[7]        Official Journal of European Communities (2000). EU Port waste Directive 2000/59/EC, 28.12.2000.

[8]        ESPO Marine Committee Sub Committee on Waste Management Plans (2000). A Waste Management Plan for Ship Generated Waste, January 2000-00059, pp. 2-5