Illegal oil discharges in the Baltic increase slightly, but still near record lows

Helsinki, 3 May (HELCOM Information Service) - The number of illegal oil discharges from ships annually observed by surveillance planes in the Baltic Sea area increased slightly in 2006, but still remains near record lows, according to the HELCOM study released today.

According to the latest annual reports provided by the Member States to HELCOM, there were 236 illicit oil spills detected during a total of 5,128 hours of surveillance flights conducted by the coastal countries over the Baltic Sea during 2006, compared to 224 discharges observed during 5,637 air patrol hours in 2005. Despite the increase, this is still the second lowest number since 1999, when 488 discharges were detected during 4,883 air patrol hours.

“Over the past eight years we have achieved a 50% reduction in the number of illegal oil discharges despite the rapidly growing density of shipping in the Baltic Sea,” says Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary. “We attribute this fact to the success of the complex set of measures known as the Baltic Strategy to prevent illegal discharges of oil and waste into the Baltic Sea, which the HELCOM Member States have been implementing since the late 1990s.”

Deliberate oil discharges from ships have been regularly observed during surveillance flights over the Baltic Sea since 1988. One of the peak years was 1989, when 763 spills were detected during 3,491 flight hours. As from 1999 the number of discharges has been steadily decreasing.

In 2006, most of the illegal oil discharges were detected along major shipping routes. Up to 86% of the discharges were smaller than one cubic metre. Only one discharge of more than 100 cubic metres of oil (in the south-western Baltic) and two of over 10 cubic meters (in the Gulf of Finland) were detected last year, compared to two discharges of over 100 cubic metres and four of over 10 cubic metres in 2005.

Regular aerial surveillance flights have contributed significantly to the decrease in discharges, as ships are aware that their illicit polluting activities can be detected. The HELCOM aerial surveillance fleet today consists of more than 20 airplanes and helicopters, many of them equipped with remote sensing equipment such as side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) cameras, photo and video equipment. HELCOM also uses satellite surveillance to detect illegal polluters.

The main objectives of the Baltic Strategy, which was operationalized by the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in 1998, are to ensure ships' compliance with global and regional discharge regulations and to eliminate illegal discharges into the sea of all wastes from all ships, and thus prevent pollution of the Baltic Sea. Another objective is to ensure an environmentally sound treatment of ship-generated wastes when these wastes have been delivered to port reception facilities ashore.

Today, all discharges into the Baltic Sea of oil, or diluted mixtures containing oil in any form, including crude oil, fuel oil, oil sludge, or refined products, are prohibited. This prohibition stems from the international designation of the Baltic Sea as a “special area” under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78).

To uphold this prohibition, HELCOM requires all ships, with a few exceptions, to deliver all such oily wastes to reception facilities before leaving port. To further encourage delivery, the countries bordering the Baltic Sea have agreed that ships should not be charged for using such reception facilities, under the “no-special-fee” system. Costs are instead recovered from general harbour fees or general environmental fees, for instance.

The increased amounts of wastes now being delivered to the Baltic Sea ports illustrate that more and more ships are delivering their oily wastes to port reception facilities rather than illegally discharging them into the Baltic Sea.

Follow-up: 2006 HELCOM report on illegal discharges observed during aerial surveillance http://www.helcom.fi/stc/files/shipping/spills2006.pdf

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, more usually known as the Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organisation of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU 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.

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