HELCOM proposal passed - passenger ship sewage discharge to be banned in the Baltic Sea

• The Baltic Sea Action Plan milestone makes Baltic the first sea in the world designated by IMO as a Special Area for sewage discharges;
• all HELCOM countries active in backing up the proposal;
• regulations adopted in record time in July 2011

15 August 2011 – The HELCOM Maritime Group proposal to ban all sewage discharge from passenger ships in the Baltic Sea was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on 15 July 2011. Any such discharge will be prohibited unless the ship uses an approved sewage treatment plant capable of sufficiently reducing nutrients, or delivers untreated sewage to a port reception facility. The elaborate process of reaching the agreement between the Baltic Sea countries, developing the proposal and negotiating it in IMO took less than four years.

“This achievement is part of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (2007-2021) and I am proud to say that all the nine HELCOM countries were active in backing up the joint stand in IMO. The Baltic is now the first sea in the world designated by IMO as a Special Area for sewage discharges under the international shipping law”, says Jorma Kämäräinen from the Finnish Transport Safety Agency, who took the lead in the proposal process.

In order to enforce the new regulations, reception facilities for sewage in ports used by passenger ships need to be adequate, and upgraded where needed. The upgrading efforts, agreed by the coastal countries and facilitated by HELCOM Cooperation Platform on Port Reception Facilities, are expected to be completed by 2015 at the latest.

Both new and existing passenger ships operating in the Baltic Sea Special Area will be required to comply with the anti-discharge regulations by 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The more stringent regulations for sewage discharge is another milestone in protecting marine environment against pollution from ships and combating its major environmental problem - eutrophication. Previously, 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, under the IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL, Annexes I and V). The new amended passenger ship regulations are covered by Annex IV of MARPOL.

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Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea countries and the European Union which works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution.

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," known as the Helsinki Convention.

Maritime Group (HELCOM MARITIME):

During the last decade shipping has steadily increased in the Baltic Sea, reflecting intensifying co-operation and economic prosperity around the region. At the same time, increasing maritime transportation threatens fragile ecosystems and the livelihoods of the many people who depend on the sea. More than 2,000 ships are at sea each day and the amount is predicted to keep growing. Between 2006 and 2010, the number of ships entering or leaving the Baltic Sea via Skaw increased by more than 10%. Passenger ships comprise approximately 11% of the total ship traffic in the Baltic Sea. Some 91 million passengers in international traffic passed through over 50 Baltic Sea ports in 2008.

The Maritime Group of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM MARITIME) identifies and promotes actions to limit sea-based pollution and ways for safer navigation. It also works to ensure enforcement and harmonized implementation of international shipping regulations.

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For further information please contact

Ms. Monika Stankiewicz

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 40 840 2471

Fax: +358 207 412 645

E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi

Ms. Johanna Laurila

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 40 523 8988

Fax: +358 207 412 645

E-mail: johanna.laurila@helcom.fi