HELCOM releases Baltic Clean Seas Guide 2009

Helsinki, 12 December (HELCOM Information Service) – The Helsinki Commission today released the 2009 Clean Seas Guide for mariners plying the waters of the Baltic Sea. Its aim is to provide ship masters with basic information on the pollution prevention regulations which have been established in the region by HELCOM.

To protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea area from pollution, every ship entering the area is urged to comply with the HELCOM anti-pollution regulations. This applies to all ships, irrespective of whether or not they are flying the flag of the HELCOM Member State.

In accordance with the IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78), under which the Baltic Sea area has been designated as a special area due to its extreme sensitivity to harmful substances, 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, bans on discharges of sewage and incineration of ship-generated wastes within 12 nautical miles from the nearest land have been imposed by HELCOM. 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,” says Monika Stankiewicz, Professional Secretary on maritime and response issues at HELCOM. “The responsibility for avoiding discharges of oil or other harmful substances rests not only with the master and his crew but also with the charterer, the ship-owner and the ports.”

The Baltic Sea has been designated as a sulphur oxide (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.

In order to reduce the risk of non-indigenous species invasion through ballast water all vessels transiting the Atlantic or from routes passing the West African Coast are requested to conduct on a voluntary basis ballast water exchange before entering the North-East Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. The ballast water exchange should be conducted in waters at least 200 nautical miles from the nearest land and at least 200 metres in depth, and in cases where these criteria cannot be met at least 50 nautical miles from the nearest land and in water at least 200 metres in depth.

All ships, with some exceptions, are under an obligation to deliver their ship-generated wastes and cargo residues, which cannot be legally discharged, to a port reception facility, before leaving the port. To enable ships to deliver their ship-generated wastes and cargo residues, over 210 port reception facilities are provided in ports located around the Baltic Sea area. According to the HELCOM “no-special-fee” system, a fee covering the cost of reception, handling and final disposal of ship-generated wastes is levied on the ship irrespective of whether or not ship-generated wastes are actually delivered. The fee is included in the harbour fee or otherwise charged to the ship. The “no-special-fee” system should be applied in all Baltic Sea ports to oily wastes from machinery spaces, sewage and garbage as well as litter caught in fishing nets. Additionally, in many Baltic Sea ports economic incentives have been introduced to encourage environmentally friendly shipping, like a system of environmentally differentiated fairway dues.

The Baltic Sea States place high priority on the elimination of violations of anti-pollution regulations, and on the conviction of any offenders. Various actions have been taken to this end. In order to prevent and detect any violation of discharge regulations, the Baltic Sea States regularly conduct aerial surveillance supported by satellite observations of their response regions and jointly survey specific parts of the Baltic Sea area. The HELCOM Member States are co-operating to investigate violations of anti-pollution regulations and fine polluters.

In addition to the pollution prevention measures, the coastal countries have agreed on certain safety of navigation measures in the Baltic Sea area, like ship traffic monitoring using the Automatic Identification System, ship routing systems, including numerous traffic separation schemes and deep water routes, ship reporting, pilotage, measures related to safety of winter navigation.

Follow-up:

To view the brochure, click here HELCOM Clean Seas Guide 2009

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region. 

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

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Monika Stankiewicz

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 643

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi