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SOLAS and COLREG both reach 100
Marine Pollution Bulletin
the same issue of liability. According to Intertanko the four alternatives facing IMO are for either the shipowner to be made liable for all damages, liability to be shared between the carrier and the cargo owner as happens with oil pollution damage, liability limits across the board to be raised by amending the 1976 Convention on Shipowners' General Liability, or that the owner of the cargo be made liable. Intertanko is opposed to the first option and considers the fourth unlikely, so some compromise centred around the other two scenarios will hopefully be reached. (Source: Lloyd's List).
Territorial Limits The implementation of the Territorial Sea Act on October 1 extending the limit of Great Britain's territorial waters to 12 miles (see also Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18, 424) has resulted in the exclusion of French and Belgian fishermen from some traditional fishing grounds in the English Channel and North Sea. Under the Territorial Sea Act 1987 the baseline for the 12 mile limit has been re-defined to any areas which remain uncovered at low tide. In the case of the Goodwin Sands, some 8 miles out to sea, British territorial waters are considerably extended to much nearer the French coast. Prior to 1 October 1987 Britain excluded foreign nationals from fishing inside a 6 mile limit and all countries, except for EEC members, up to 12 miles.
Belgium Plans Waste Islands Every year tens of millions of tonnes of highly contaminated sludge are dredged by Belgian Authorities in order to keep the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ostend, and Neiuwpoort navigable. Until recently dredged sludge from the river Scheldt was simply discharged back into the river at specially designated areas. Since Dutch Authorities became aware of the high levels of cadmium and mercury in the sludge such dumping has ceased due to its likely impact on other activities on the river. Dredged material from the coastal parts of Zeebrugge, Ostend, and Neiuwpoort is transported and dumped at sea. The impact of these activities on local fisheries has prompted studies of the fate of the dumped material. These have revealed that the dumped material is largely transported by currents back to the Scheldt estuary and to other coastal ports where they have to be dredged again. A proposed solution to this problem is a plan to construct offshore 'environmental islands'. Basically, huge dykes would be constructed then pumped dry to provide an area for dumping. Located some 9-22 km out from Zeebrugge these islands would be capable of storing 600 million tonnes of waste. At the present rate of dumping this would alleviate the problem for the next 20-25 years. The proposed sites for such islands, however, are on some of the major fishing grounds in the area. It is 148
claimed that should the plan go ahead it would result in the decline of Zeebrugge as a fishing port with the loss, directly and indirectly, of a considerable number of jobs. Although initially for the storage of dredged material from coastal ports and the Scheldt estuary, many see this as the thin end of the wedge. Future developments such as on-site highly toxic waste handling facilities would be a natural progression. The likely impact of a spill both locally and into the North Sea as a whole, coming after recent events on the Rhine, has brought considerable criticism of the project. The safety hazards posed by the proposed 3000 tonne purpose-built waste-vessels operating in an already busy shipping area and the consequences of a collision have also raised questions over the acceptability of risks involved in such operations.
ROBERT FORBES
Surface Mineral Extraction Increases The Dutch government has announced plans to exploit areas of the North Sea for surface mineral extraction by dredging for sand and gravel. Because of increased demand for these materials by the construction industry and the exhaustion of land-based sources, the Dutch are proposing to use the North Sea as a substitute extraction basin, especially to meet the demands of the densely populated western provinces of the Netherlands. The submitted plan refers to draft legislation for more coordinated management of surface mineral and sediment extraction, and indicates specific areas for extraction based on the consideration and evaluation of relevant social interests. Areas identified as having potential include the two-mile wide coastal zone and, adjacent to this, the gravel grounds and areas north of 53 ° 30'N. Under Dutch Law on Environmental Protection the above proposal is subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment 0EIA), a blueprint of which has already been drafted. The blueprint describes both the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the marine ecosystem and highlights those aspects of extraction activities with the potential to produce adverse effects on the ecosystem. In Britain a recent report by the Department of the Environment has warned that seabed resources of gravel and sand are not secure enough to meet national needs. Problems are arising as existing offshore supplies become depleted faster than permissions for new workings are granted. The six main British dredging areas lie off the east and south coasts: the Thames estuary, the Bristol Channel, the Humber, and Liverpool Bay. Total landings in Britain are around 12 million tonnes with around two-thirds of all dredged material coming ashore in southeast England. Many potential dredging areas are unavailable for exploitation because of fears of the effects on coastal stability and important fisheries. Other reserves remain untapped because of the presence of underwater cables and pipelines. In the southern North Sea in particular the heavy concentration of pipelines and cables and their associated protection zones has resulted in an estimated 3600 km 2 of seabed being 'offlimits' to the dredgers.
the same issue of liability. According to Intertanko the four alternatives facing IMO are for either the shipowner to be made liable for all damages, liability to be shared between the carrier and the cargo owner as happens with oil pollution damage, liability limits across the board to be raised by amending the 1976 Convention on Shipowners' General Liability, or that the owner of the cargo be made liable. Intertanko is opposed to the first option and considers the fourth unlikely, so some compromise centred around the other two scenarios will hopefully be reached. (Source: Lloyd's List).
Territorial Limits The implementation of the Territorial Sea Act on October 1 extending the limit of Great Britain's territorial waters to 12 miles (see also Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18, 424) has resulted in the exclusion of French and Belgian fishermen from some traditional fishing grounds in the English Channel and North Sea. Under the Territorial Sea Act 1987 the baseline for the 12 mile limit has been re-defined to any areas which remain uncovered at low tide. In the case of the Goodwin Sands, some 8 miles out to sea, British territorial waters are considerably extended to much nearer the French coast. Prior to 1 October 1987 Britain excluded foreign nationals from fishing inside a 6 mile limit and all countries, except for EEC members, up to 12 miles.
Belgium Plans Waste Islands Every year tens of millions of tonnes of highly contaminated sludge are dredged by Belgian Authorities in order to keep the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ostend, and Neiuwpoort navigable. Until recently dredged sludge from the river Scheldt was simply discharged back into the river at specially designated areas. Since Dutch Authorities became aware of the high levels of cadmium and mercury in the sludge such dumping has ceased due to its likely impact on other activities on the river. Dredged material from the coastal parts of Zeebrugge, Ostend, and Neiuwpoort is transported and dumped at sea. The impact of these activities on local fisheries has prompted studies of the fate of the dumped material. These have revealed that the dumped material is largely transported by currents back to the Scheldt estuary and to other coastal ports where they have to be dredged again. A proposed solution to this problem is a plan to construct offshore 'environmental islands'. Basically, huge dykes would be constructed then pumped dry to provide an area for dumping. Located some 9-22 km out from Zeebrugge these islands would be capable of storing 600 million tonnes of waste. At the present rate of dumping this would alleviate the problem for the next 20-25 years. The proposed sites for such islands, however, are on some of the major fishing grounds in the area. It is 148
claimed that should the plan go ahead it would result in the decline of Zeebrugge as a fishing port with the loss, directly and indirectly, of a considerable number of jobs. Although initially for the storage of dredged material from coastal ports and the Scheldt estuary, many see this as the thin end of the wedge. Future developments such as on-site highly toxic waste handling facilities would be a natural progression. The likely impact of a spill both locally and into the North Sea as a whole, coming after recent events on the Rhine, has brought considerable criticism of the project. The safety hazards posed by the proposed 3000 tonne purpose-built waste-vessels operating in an already busy shipping area and the consequences of a collision have also raised questions over the acceptability of risks involved in such operations.
ROBERT FORBES
Surface Mineral Extraction Increases The Dutch government has announced plans to exploit areas of the North Sea for surface mineral extraction by dredging for sand and gravel. Because of increased demand for these materials by the construction industry and the exhaustion of land-based sources, the Dutch are proposing to use the North Sea as a substitute extraction basin, especially to meet the demands of the densely populated western provinces of the Netherlands. The submitted plan refers to draft legislation for more coordinated management of surface mineral and sediment extraction, and indicates specific areas for extraction based on the consideration and evaluation of relevant social interests. Areas identified as having potential include the two-mile wide coastal zone and, adjacent to this, the gravel grounds and areas north of 53 ° 30'N. Under Dutch Law on Environmental Protection the above proposal is subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment 0EIA), a blueprint of which has already been drafted. The blueprint describes both the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the marine ecosystem and highlights those aspects of extraction activities with the potential to produce adverse effects on the ecosystem. In Britain a recent report by the Department of the Environment has warned that seabed resources of gravel and sand are not secure enough to meet national needs. Problems are arising as existing offshore supplies become depleted faster than permissions for new workings are granted. The six main British dredging areas lie off the east and south coasts: the Thames estuary, the Bristol Channel, the Humber, and Liverpool Bay. Total landings in Britain are around 12 million tonnes with around two-thirds of all dredged material coming ashore in southeast England. Many potential dredging areas are unavailable for exploitation because of fears of the effects on coastal stability and important fisheries. Other reserves remain untapped because of the presence of underwater cables and pipelines. In the southern North Sea in particular the heavy concentration of pipelines and cables and their associated protection zones has resulted in an estimated 3600 km 2 of seabed being 'offlimits' to the dredgers.