Magda Wilewska-Bien

Shipping and the Environment - Improving Environmental Performance in Marine Transportation

This book focuses on the interaction between shipping and the natural environment and how shipping can strive to become more sustainable. Readers are guided in marine environmental awareness, environmental regulations and abatement technologies to assist in decisions on strategy, policy and investments. You will get familiar with possible paths to improve environmental performance and, in the long term, to a sustainable shipping sector, based on an understanding of the sources and mechanisms of common impacts. You will also gain knowledge on emissions and discharges from ships, prevention measures, environmental regulations, and methods and tools for environmental assessment. In addition, the book includes a chapter on the background to regulating pollution from ships. It is intended as a source of information for professionals connected to maritime activities as well as policy makers and interested public. It is also intended as a textbook in higher education academic programmes.

The nutrient load from food waste generated onboard ships in the Baltic Sea

The combination of the sensitive characteristics of the Baltic Sea and the intense maritime traffic makes the marine environment vulnerable to anthropogenic influences. The theoretical scenario calculated in this study shows that the annually generated food waste onboard ships in traffic in the Baltic Sea contains about 182tonnes of nitrogen and 34tonnes of phosphorus. Today, all food waste generated onboard can be legally discharged into the marine environment at a distance of 12NM from the nearest land. The annual load of nitrogen contained in the food waste corresponds to 52% of load of nitrogen from the ship-generated sewage. Future regulations for sewage discharge in the Baltic Sea will require significant reduction of total nitrogen and phosphorus released. The contribution of nutrients from food waste compared to sewage will therefore be relatively larger in the future, if food waste still can be legally discharged.

Phosphorus flows on ships: Case study from the Baltic Sea

Material flow analysis is used to identify and quantify the flow of phosphorus (P) in ship-generated food waste and wastewater. Passenger, cruise, RoPax and cargo ships in the Baltic Sea were investigated in three scenarios: (1) if all waste is discharged to sea, (2) if all waste is disposed of ashore or (3) if the food waste fraction is disposed of ashore and wastewater is treated on-board. About 107 tonnes of P is generated annually in the waste streams, with highest contribution of approximately 62 tonnes (58%) from wastewater in the ship-category RoPax. Approximately 24 tonnes of P is contained in the food waste generated by the ships in the study. Forthcoming regulations over allowed nutrient concentrations in sewage will lead to 80% reduction in P from passenger ships and can reduce about 31 tonnes of P entering the Baltic Sea environment. If both sewage and grey water instead are offloaded in port reception facilities, about 76 tonnes of P-reduction to the sea can be reached. As most phosphorus recovery practices currently only are available on land it is recommended to direct the waste streams to port reception facilities for further treatment ashore.

Pathways to reduction and efficient handling of food waste on passenger ships: from Baltic Sea perspective

Food waste generation has received increasing attention in recent years. In this paper, we investigate the availability of information regarding food waste management on-board ships and describe how this information is communicated by companies operating passenger ships in the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, we summarize the aspects that influence efficient management of waste and identify pathways for food waste reduction on-board ships. The main three findings from this study are: (I) the information on waste handling at companies’ websites was to a large extent lacking. Food waste was mentioned in 22% of investigated ferry ship operator cases and in 32% of cruise ship operator cases. (II) In the interviews with environmental managers from two passenger ship companies, various aspects of food waste handling on-board ships were identified, which could be further grouped into technical, economic, management, legal and social categories. We suggest that the aspects of waste handling presented in this paper can serve as a framework for detection of the challenges and possibilities for different actors including shipping companies, ports and waste management agents. (III) The pathways towards efficient food waste handling may differ for individual ships, as it depends on vessel age, type of equipment and route schedules. The effort should be put in separating food waste from the rest of waste streams as it enables a clearer picture of the waste produced, increases the handling alternatives and may provide technological and economic benefits. Transparency and communication between the waste handling actors is the key in finding tailor-made solutions for treatment of ship-generated waste.

Improving Environmental Performance in Shipping

This book addresses the environmental issues related to shipping and the natural environment, including descriptions of and proposed solutions to the issues. Currently, challenges exist that must be addressed if shipping is to become sustainable and fulfil the zero vision of no harmful emissions to the environment. In this chapter, we evaluate the steps that have been taken (if any) to limit the various environmental issues and discuss possible steps to be taken to improve environmental performance. Furthermore, future challenges must also be addressed, e.g., the current trend of increasing ship operations in the Arctic. In general, three factors could be addressed in order to reach environmentally sustainable shipping: regulations, technical solutions, and increased environmental awareness.

Discharges to the Sea

In this chapter, various environmental issues from the shipping industry which ends up in the oceans are described. Oil pollution, wastewater, antifouling paint, ballast water and litter are all described in detail. Various sources of oil pollution exist, ranging from large accidents to small continuous leakages from, e.g., propeller shaft bearings. The behaviour of oil when it enters the sea can differ, ultimately affecting the environment. Wastewater from ships is divided into sewage and grey water, and different regulations can affect their characteristics. Fouling on ship hulls affects the drag on the ship, which increases fuel consumption when maintaining a constant speed. The various antifouling paints used today to combat fouling are described herein, and a review of the environmental implications of using these paints is provided. Ballast water contains organisms that can become invasive if released into a new geographical area. Invasive species can entail costs on the order of millions of euros. Finally, litter is discussed in this chapter. Litter is deposited in the ocean via several sources and can affect organisms over long periods of time. Plastic causes the largest litter-related problem because it does not biodegrade; such material only becomes smaller, ultimately reaching a microplastic state. Henee, litter can affect organisms in different ways.

Measures to Reduce Discharges and Emissions

Discharges and emissions from shipping can be reduced through different technical measures, many of which apply similar principles, e.g., filtration or absorption. Ballast water treatment systems can be used to limit the spread of invasive species. Selective catalytic reduction units and exhaust gas recirculation can be used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, and scrubbers and diesel particulate filters can be used to reduce sulphur dioxide and particle emissions . The restoration or remediation of natural environments may also be required after large oil spills. Possible remediation methods include booms, mechanical techniques and dispersant chemicals. These and several additional technical measures to reduce discharges and emissions are described in this chapter, including measures to reduce the impact of the infrastructure related to the shipping industry.