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Report on impact of shipping on air quality
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Deadline for New Tankers After 6 July all new oil tankers ordered will have to be fitted with double hulls or another method of protecting the cargo which gives the same level of protection. The amount of oil which may be discharged into the sea from ships will also be greatly reduced. These changes are contained in amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78) that were adopted on 6 March last year at a conference held under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 24, 380). Other amendments adopted at that time will make it mandatory for existing tankers to be fitted with double hulls or an equivalent design when they reach the age of 25, but these requirements will not take effect until 6 July 1995. The design standards for new ships are included in a new regulation 13F of Annex I of the Convention which deals with pollution by oil. The regulation applies to tankers ordered after 6 July 1993, whose keels were laid on or after 6 January 1994 or which are delivered on or after 6 July 1996. All new tankers of 5000 dwt and above must be fitted with double hulls separated by a space of up to 2 metres (on tankers below 5000 dwt the space must be at least 0.76m). As an alternative, tankers may incorporate the 'mid-deck' concept under which tankers have double sides but not a double bottom. Instead, another deck is installed inside the cargo tank with the venting arranged in such a way that when the bottom shell plate is holed the upward pressure on the outside is greater than the pressure of cargo oil inside. Other methods of design and construction may be accepted as alternatives 'provided that such methods ensure at least the same level of protection against oil pollution in the event of a collision or stranding and are approved in principle by the Marine Environment Protection Committee based on guidelines developed by the Organization'. A study into the respective merits of the double-hull and mid-deck designs was carried out by IMO in 1991 and showed that the two designs could be considered as equivalent, although their performance varied according to conditions. The study showed: • in approximately 80% of the total grounding accidents resulting in hull penetration--no oil spill will occur in double-hull tankers, but some oil spill, normally small in relation to the ship's deadweight, would occur in mid-deck tankers, • in grounding which would result in the rupture of the bottom shell plating of double-hull and mid-deck tankers and the inner bottom of double-hull tankers, the amount of oil spilled will be the same as in conventional tankers, but some oil spill, normally small in relation to the ship's deadweight, would occur in middeck tankers, 414
• in collisions which would not result in the rupture of the inner hull, no oil spill will occur; mid-deck tankers have less probability of such collisions because of the wider wing tank spaces needed to meet the segregated ballast capacity requirements, • the amount of oil outflow of double-hull and middeck tankers after collisions which result in the rupture of the inner hull will depend on the actual tank arrangements.
Report on Impact of Shipping on Air Quality Lloyd's Register is about to publish its Phase II report on marine exhaust emissions. Phase II of the Lloyd's Register Exhaust Emissions Programme was made possible through British and Dutch funding and covers two distinct areas: the investigation of the effect of transient operations such as manoeuvring on the level and composition of marine exhaust emissions by means of shipboard measurements; the study of the impact of exhaust emissions of ships on the air quality in the vicinity of the Dutch port of Vlissingen. The findings of the study will form part of a joint Anglo-Dutch submission to the International Maritime Organization which is currently considering proposals to limit air pollution resulting from shipping. Lloyd's Register's summary report shows that despite variations between individual vessels and differing manoeuvring operations, average emission rates under transient conditions were not substantially different from those for steady state operation. The findings confirm the wider application of the emission factors derived in Phase I of the study (steady state operation) and means that these factors can be used for estimating overall pollution levels resulting from shipping in port areas. The transient emission trials in Phase II involved continuous measurements of exhaust gases on board a total of eight ships (three ferries, a tanker, a container ship, a tug, a Rhine barge and a dredger), covering a wide range of diesel engine types and operating modes. At the request of the Dutch authorities, the study included an analysis of organic micropollutants on some of the vessels. Additional gas turbine exhaust gas measurements were supported by the Royal Netherlands Navy and were carried out on board a frigate and a mine hunter. The ambient air quality in the port area appeared satisfactory. A comparison of emission from shipping: in the Schelde estuary with those from industrial sites in the area, found the latter were the predominant sources of pollution in the local environment, while shipping had a relatively minor effect on air quality. Phase II of the programme was supported by funding from the Netherlands Foundation for the Coordination of Maritime Research; the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment; the Netherlands Ministry of Transport, Public Works and
Volume 26/Number 8/August 1993
the Mediterranean pollution comes from France, Italy and Spain, the three most industrialized countries. Every three weeks almost 30,000 tonnes of oil from shipping enters the sea and concern is rising as Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union enter the industrialised trading world. Already water of twenty of the twenty-nine rivers entering the sea are too polluted for human consumption and hold low fish stocks. A quarter of the 150 beaches tested recently were found to be below acceptable public health standards. The Metap programme will have $30 m of support. It Interim measures could be taken by ship owners and bunkerers to reduce pollution before new legislation is aimed at a sharing of knowledge between the planned by the International Maritime Organization northern and southern regions to prevent a repetition of (IMO) comes into operation according to Jan van Tiel, the errors made in the north following their population the director-general of the Dutch shipping and expansion. A coastal population for the sea of 220 Maritime affairs of the Netherlands Ministry of Public million is predicted by the year 2050 together with a Works, Transport and Inland Waterways. The incinera- 350 million tourist influx each year. An initial funding will provide grants for the safe tion of sludge on board would be accepted in the interim and would avoid the sea-board flushing in management of hazardous wastes, prevention of oil and waters off the Dutch coast which appears to be chemical spills and the management of water resources. occurring. Mr van Tiel stated that evidence of environ- Studies and development institutions will also benefit mental damage in parts of the North Sea were already from early funding. The main thrust of the programme present and that clean-up operations were much more however will be the prevention of pollution. Governexpensive than prevention. ments will be assisted in the rewriting of their laws and The port of Rotterdam is already introducing extens- regulations to facilitate conservation and management ive new proposals for introduction this year in of their resources. Radical preventative measures will connection with bunkering operations. The new regu- need to be taken as the southern states have the lations would mean extensive checking by masters potential to be the worst polluters in the area. before bunkering could begin. Measures such as Specific programmes underway range from a marine ensuring flushing gates were fully closed, blanking off protection scheme in Egypt and a hazardous waste all pipes not in use and ensuring a large save-all was in management programme in Algeria to joint training place under the bunker pipe connection will be schemes for municipal workers to ensure expertise in expected. The condition of hoses would have to be of a environmental planning management and coastal high standard and a constant watch kept on the entire environmental impact assessment. A floating reception transfer operation. Bremen, Le Havre and Felixstowe facility for ships to dump dirty ballast water has already are also collaborating with Rotterdam to ensure been funded by the European Community. As the maximum safety and vessel checks during operation. facilities are at Patras in Greece and Port Said in Egypt, The main thrust of the legislation will be enforced they will cater for the 20 000 ships which pass through through inspections and a database recording details of on their way to the Suez Canal. ship owners who have broken regulations in the past. The support given by the World Bank and European Port bye-laws will also be changed to try to reduce the Investment Bank will have a major impact on industrial number of bunkering spills which occur each year. development as they have immense influence on the The successful pilot scheme run in Rotterdam last economic planning for the region. year resulted in 13 warnings from the 30 ship inspections which were made.
Water Management; the UK Department of Transport and Lloyd's Register, while all vessels used in the study were provided by Dutch and British ship owners cooperating with the research team.
Dutch Take Tougher Line on Bunkering Pollution
Pollution Prevention Programme for Mediterranean In response to the increased industrialization of the southern Mediterranean, a three year multimillion dollar technical assistance programme has been launched to prevent a repetition of the problems associated with pollution in the northern region. The Mediterranean Environmental Assistance Programme (Metap) was launched in Casablanca by the twenty countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It is cosponsored by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Community and the United Nations Development Programme. Currently, 60% of
The Decline of the Hong Kong White Dolphin The Hong Kong population of humpback dolphins has been dramatically reduced from 150 to 350 over the last two years according to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report. Habitat destruction and toxic wastes are believed to be the underlying cause of their decline and current predictions expect the colony to disappear within two years if this decline continues at its current rate. Further concern over the group has emerged as they may prove to be at least a sub-species carrying unique genetic stock and hence their loss would in fact mean their extinction. WWF-Hong Kong are running DNA fingerprinting on the tissues of a dead washed-up dolphin to establish their taxonomic status~ 415
Deadline for New Tankers After 6 July all new oil tankers ordered will have to be fitted with double hulls or another method of protecting the cargo which gives the same level of protection. The amount of oil which may be discharged into the sea from ships will also be greatly reduced. These changes are contained in amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78) that were adopted on 6 March last year at a conference held under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 24, 380). Other amendments adopted at that time will make it mandatory for existing tankers to be fitted with double hulls or an equivalent design when they reach the age of 25, but these requirements will not take effect until 6 July 1995. The design standards for new ships are included in a new regulation 13F of Annex I of the Convention which deals with pollution by oil. The regulation applies to tankers ordered after 6 July 1993, whose keels were laid on or after 6 January 1994 or which are delivered on or after 6 July 1996. All new tankers of 5000 dwt and above must be fitted with double hulls separated by a space of up to 2 metres (on tankers below 5000 dwt the space must be at least 0.76m). As an alternative, tankers may incorporate the 'mid-deck' concept under which tankers have double sides but not a double bottom. Instead, another deck is installed inside the cargo tank with the venting arranged in such a way that when the bottom shell plate is holed the upward pressure on the outside is greater than the pressure of cargo oil inside. Other methods of design and construction may be accepted as alternatives 'provided that such methods ensure at least the same level of protection against oil pollution in the event of a collision or stranding and are approved in principle by the Marine Environment Protection Committee based on guidelines developed by the Organization'. A study into the respective merits of the double-hull and mid-deck designs was carried out by IMO in 1991 and showed that the two designs could be considered as equivalent, although their performance varied according to conditions. The study showed: • in approximately 80% of the total grounding accidents resulting in hull penetration--no oil spill will occur in double-hull tankers, but some oil spill, normally small in relation to the ship's deadweight, would occur in mid-deck tankers, • in grounding which would result in the rupture of the bottom shell plating of double-hull and mid-deck tankers and the inner bottom of double-hull tankers, the amount of oil spilled will be the same as in conventional tankers, but some oil spill, normally small in relation to the ship's deadweight, would occur in middeck tankers, 414
• in collisions which would not result in the rupture of the inner hull, no oil spill will occur; mid-deck tankers have less probability of such collisions because of the wider wing tank spaces needed to meet the segregated ballast capacity requirements, • the amount of oil outflow of double-hull and middeck tankers after collisions which result in the rupture of the inner hull will depend on the actual tank arrangements.
Report on Impact of Shipping on Air Quality Lloyd's Register is about to publish its Phase II report on marine exhaust emissions. Phase II of the Lloyd's Register Exhaust Emissions Programme was made possible through British and Dutch funding and covers two distinct areas: the investigation of the effect of transient operations such as manoeuvring on the level and composition of marine exhaust emissions by means of shipboard measurements; the study of the impact of exhaust emissions of ships on the air quality in the vicinity of the Dutch port of Vlissingen. The findings of the study will form part of a joint Anglo-Dutch submission to the International Maritime Organization which is currently considering proposals to limit air pollution resulting from shipping. Lloyd's Register's summary report shows that despite variations between individual vessels and differing manoeuvring operations, average emission rates under transient conditions were not substantially different from those for steady state operation. The findings confirm the wider application of the emission factors derived in Phase I of the study (steady state operation) and means that these factors can be used for estimating overall pollution levels resulting from shipping in port areas. The transient emission trials in Phase II involved continuous measurements of exhaust gases on board a total of eight ships (three ferries, a tanker, a container ship, a tug, a Rhine barge and a dredger), covering a wide range of diesel engine types and operating modes. At the request of the Dutch authorities, the study included an analysis of organic micropollutants on some of the vessels. Additional gas turbine exhaust gas measurements were supported by the Royal Netherlands Navy and were carried out on board a frigate and a mine hunter. The ambient air quality in the port area appeared satisfactory. A comparison of emission from shipping: in the Schelde estuary with those from industrial sites in the area, found the latter were the predominant sources of pollution in the local environment, while shipping had a relatively minor effect on air quality. Phase II of the programme was supported by funding from the Netherlands Foundation for the Coordination of Maritime Research; the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment; the Netherlands Ministry of Transport, Public Works and
Volume 26/Number 8/August 1993
the Mediterranean pollution comes from France, Italy and Spain, the three most industrialized countries. Every three weeks almost 30,000 tonnes of oil from shipping enters the sea and concern is rising as Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union enter the industrialised trading world. Already water of twenty of the twenty-nine rivers entering the sea are too polluted for human consumption and hold low fish stocks. A quarter of the 150 beaches tested recently were found to be below acceptable public health standards. The Metap programme will have $30 m of support. It Interim measures could be taken by ship owners and bunkerers to reduce pollution before new legislation is aimed at a sharing of knowledge between the planned by the International Maritime Organization northern and southern regions to prevent a repetition of (IMO) comes into operation according to Jan van Tiel, the errors made in the north following their population the director-general of the Dutch shipping and expansion. A coastal population for the sea of 220 Maritime affairs of the Netherlands Ministry of Public million is predicted by the year 2050 together with a Works, Transport and Inland Waterways. The incinera- 350 million tourist influx each year. An initial funding will provide grants for the safe tion of sludge on board would be accepted in the interim and would avoid the sea-board flushing in management of hazardous wastes, prevention of oil and waters off the Dutch coast which appears to be chemical spills and the management of water resources. occurring. Mr van Tiel stated that evidence of environ- Studies and development institutions will also benefit mental damage in parts of the North Sea were already from early funding. The main thrust of the programme present and that clean-up operations were much more however will be the prevention of pollution. Governexpensive than prevention. ments will be assisted in the rewriting of their laws and The port of Rotterdam is already introducing extens- regulations to facilitate conservation and management ive new proposals for introduction this year in of their resources. Radical preventative measures will connection with bunkering operations. The new regu- need to be taken as the southern states have the lations would mean extensive checking by masters potential to be the worst polluters in the area. before bunkering could begin. Measures such as Specific programmes underway range from a marine ensuring flushing gates were fully closed, blanking off protection scheme in Egypt and a hazardous waste all pipes not in use and ensuring a large save-all was in management programme in Algeria to joint training place under the bunker pipe connection will be schemes for municipal workers to ensure expertise in expected. The condition of hoses would have to be of a environmental planning management and coastal high standard and a constant watch kept on the entire environmental impact assessment. A floating reception transfer operation. Bremen, Le Havre and Felixstowe facility for ships to dump dirty ballast water has already are also collaborating with Rotterdam to ensure been funded by the European Community. As the maximum safety and vessel checks during operation. facilities are at Patras in Greece and Port Said in Egypt, The main thrust of the legislation will be enforced they will cater for the 20 000 ships which pass through through inspections and a database recording details of on their way to the Suez Canal. ship owners who have broken regulations in the past. The support given by the World Bank and European Port bye-laws will also be changed to try to reduce the Investment Bank will have a major impact on industrial number of bunkering spills which occur each year. development as they have immense influence on the The successful pilot scheme run in Rotterdam last economic planning for the region. year resulted in 13 warnings from the 30 ship inspections which were made.
Water Management; the UK Department of Transport and Lloyd's Register, while all vessels used in the study were provided by Dutch and British ship owners cooperating with the research team.
Dutch Take Tougher Line on Bunkering Pollution
Pollution Prevention Programme for Mediterranean In response to the increased industrialization of the southern Mediterranean, a three year multimillion dollar technical assistance programme has been launched to prevent a repetition of the problems associated with pollution in the northern region. The Mediterranean Environmental Assistance Programme (Metap) was launched in Casablanca by the twenty countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It is cosponsored by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Community and the United Nations Development Programme. Currently, 60% of
The Decline of the Hong Kong White Dolphin The Hong Kong population of humpback dolphins has been dramatically reduced from 150 to 350 over the last two years according to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report. Habitat destruction and toxic wastes are believed to be the underlying cause of their decline and current predictions expect the colony to disappear within two years if this decline continues at its current rate. Further concern over the group has emerged as they may prove to be at least a sub-species carrying unique genetic stock and hence their loss would in fact mean their extinction. WWF-Hong Kong are running DNA fingerprinting on the tissues of a dead washed-up dolphin to establish their taxonomic status~ 415