The date of mandatory delivery of sewage at ports still unclear

Annual HELCOM Maritime Group met recently in Riga to discuss the current status of reception facilities for sewage in ports. According to the previous plans the mandatory delivery of waste waters from ship at ports should start at 2016 for new ships and two years later for older ships. However, the introduction date of new regulation is still unclear due to the lack of final agreement between the Baltic countries.

Baltic countries, as a contracting parties to Helsinki Commission, as well as observer organizations (including Baltic Ports Organization) have commented an update of the HELCOM report on current availability and use of sewage reception facilities in the Baltic Sea area. The revised version of the report is currently developed based on information from the cruise industry, ports and national administrations. The 2014 version of the report will be released during spring 2015.

Helcom Maritime meeting in Riga, Latvia discussed the current status of the notification submission to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on the sewage port reception facilities. Such a notification is needed in order to enforce the status of the Baltic Sea as a special area in terms of sewage from passenger ships, as agreed at IMO in 2011.

Final agreement is yet to be reached when a submission to the IMO meeting is to take place, as dome countries still wish to clarify uncertainties regarding the quality of sewage, implications to small ferries or address the reception capacities in specific ports.

According to the conclusion from the Helcom Maritime meeting, discussions on the submission to the IMO will continue during the upcoming months within a dedicated correspondence group led by Sweden.

Bogdan Ołdakowski, BPO Secretary General, commenting the outcome of the meeting said: “Port around the Baltic Sea are working for future mandatory reception of sewage from passenger ships. The preparation status differs from port to port. In some ports there are reception facilities already on place. However, some ports are straggling to agree with municipal wastewater companies, which should finally, via ports, collect the sewage. There are legal and technological challenges associated with this process. In a worst scenario some of the ports would be forced to build its own treatment plants, which is very difficult to accept due to the very high investment costs”.

Full version of the meeting outcome is here:
https://portal.helcom.fi/meetings/MARITIME%2014-2014-140/MeetingDocuments/Outcome%20of%20MARITIME%2014-2014.pdf

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The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region. Baltic Ports Organization is having the observer status at Helcom and among others is involved in HELCOM Cooperation Platform on Port Reception Facilities (PRF).