HELCOM MARITIME approves the draft HELCOM Recommendation on Application of the no-special-fee system to ship-generated wastes in the Baltic Sea area

After extensive drafting work the Third Meeting of the Maritime Group of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM MARITIME), held in Copenhagen, Denmark, 26-28 October, has approved the draft HELCOM Recommendation on Application of the no-special-fee system to ship-generated wastes in the Baltic Sea area. It will be submitted for endorsement to the HELCOM Heads of Delegations Meeting to be convened 4-5 November.

The Recommendation proposes to extend, as of 1 January 2006, the so called "no-special-fee" system which is currently applicable to oily wastes from machinery spaces to also garbage and sewage. The "no-special-fee" system has the dual purpose of encouraging ships to deliver waste ashore thus avoiding undesirable waste streams between ports and encouraging a sound sharing of the waste burden. It is also one of the prerequisites of the Baltic Strategy for a substantial decrease in the number of operational and illegal discharges of oil and thus for the prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships.

The Meeting also considered the draft Recommendation on "Measures to address the threat of invasive species transported via the ballast water of ships". It has been prepared following the adoption of the International Convention on Management of Ballast Water and Sediments by IMO and contains proposals to deal with the threat of marine bio-invasions at the regional level in cooperation with the North Sea area.

The Meeting agreed on the modified text, emphasizing the importance of carrying out risk assessments in all the Baltic Sea States as a preparatory process in relation to future considerations on management measures in accordance with the Ballast Water Convention. However, it was also decided that further discussions/consultations are needed before adopting this document.

The Maritime Group also agreed that more data on ship accidents in the Baltic Sea area will be reported as from 2004. All the data will be available on the Helsinki Commissions web site via the Maritime Accident Response Information System (MARIS).

The Meeting discussed possible HELCOM actions with regard to further reduction of emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from ships. The Meeting identified the possibility for regional actions and decided that a report on various available technical solutions, which allow to significantly reduce emission during oil loading-unloading operations and during transportation, will be prepared for the next meeting of the Maritime Group to serve as a basis for possible development of a HELCOM Recommendation on the matter.

Among other issues the Meeting discussed possibilities to enhance the exchange of information on the places of refuge.

Contacts

HELCOM Secretariat

Mr Tadas Navickas
Professional Secretary
Tel: +358 9 6220 2242
Fax: +358 9 6220 2239

Mr Nikolay Vlasov
Information Secretary
Tel: +358 9 6220 2235
Fax: +358 9 6220 2239