Environmental Protection Department News

Lithuania said on Thursday it had been informed by a subsidiary of Polish oil refiner Orlen PKN of an oil spill in the country's waters in the Baltic Sea and had launched a probe into the incident.Lithuania's Environmental Protection Department said in a statement the subsidiary, Orlen Lietuva, had informed it on Wednesday of a 300-litre spill near the Butinge oil import terminal in connection with the loading of a tanker.It said an inspection by Lithuania later on Wednesday showed the spill measured nine kilometers by two kilometers with at least 1.8 tonnes of oil on the surface…

While all eyes are on 2020 and the introduction of the IMO’s global sulphur cap, Hong Kong and Taiwan are aligning their emission regulations with the Chinese Emission Control Area (ECA) requirements and will implement a local 0.50% sulphur cap from 1 January 2019, said Gard.A release from the maritime insurer said that the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee’s 73rd session (MEPC73) has just ended, and with it, so did all speculations about a potential delay of the global 0.50% sulphur cap. The rules apply from 1 January 2020 - and they will be enforced.Hong Kong’s current Fuel at Berth Regulation requiring ships to burn fuel with a sulphur content not exceeding 0.50% while at berth is soon to be replaced by one that will extend the standard to ships operating in Hong Kong waters…

Hong Kong stepped up efforts on Wednesday to clean up a massive palm oil spill, with authorities scooping up more than 90 tonnes of foul-smelling, styrofoam-like clumps in one of the worst environmental disasters to blight the territory's waters. Dead fish, shells, rocks, plastic bottles and other rubbish could still be found coated with globules of palm oil on beaches across the Chinese-controlled territory six days after the spill caused after two vessels collided in the Pearl River estuary. The government said it had scooped up 93 tonnes of oil waste, most of it congealed, and the amount left floating on the sea surface had fallen significantly.

An overview of worldwide emission control policies and technologies has been presented at an international workshop in Hong Kong, China (14 to 16 December 2016). International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Heike Deggim outlined the current regulations and recent work in the Marine Environment Protection Committee to an audience of government officials, international shipping industry representatives, academics and environmental non-governmental organizations. The presentation covered IMO regulations to control air pollution emissions from ships, including SOx and NOx, and energy efficiency requirements, aimed at cutting CO2 emissions from international shipping.

The bill requiring ocean going ships to switch to low sulfur fuel while at berth in Hong Kong could effectively raise the cost of shipping containers through the city. Under the new Hong Kong Air Pollution Control (Ocean Going Vessels) (Fuel at Berth) Regulation, OGVs will be required to use low-sulphur marine fuel, LNG and any other fuels approved by the Director of Environmental Protection. According to a report in South China Morning Post, the law for greener Hong Kong has raised concerns on who should bear the costs for an environmentally clean port. Several international shipping lines reportedly said that they were studying ways to minimise the hit. Levying a surcharge on their customers remains the most viable option. Box lines mulling passing on extra cost of fuel.

The Government of Hong Kong’s Air Pollution Control (Ocean Going Vessels) (Fuel at Berth) Regulation, which mandates oceangoing vessels (OGV) to use clean fuels while berthing in Hong Kong for reducing emissions so as to improve air quality, will be gazetted Friday, March 13. The compliant fuels required by the regulation are low-sulphur marine fuel (sulphur content not exceeding 0.5 percent), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and any other fuels approved by the Director of Environmental Protection.

Regarding the massive spill of polypropylene plastic pellets into the Hong Kong waters from a cargo ship during typhoon Vicente in July 2012, and following active negotiations amongst the parties concerned, a Hong Kong Marine Department spokesperson said a settlement agreement was reached for a sum to be paid by the party concerned to the government to compensate the costs it incurred in cleaning up the plastic pellets. The spokesperson explained that due to the complexity of the legal issues involved…

An annual oil spill response joint exercise, this year code-named Oilex 2013, was held on October 17 off Ha Mei Wan, Lamma Island, to test responses in combating oil pollution in Hong Kong waters. Under the Maritime Oil Spill Response Plan, the Marine Department coordinated the exercise and other government departments including the Civil Aid Service, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Government Flying Service (GFS) and the Hong Kong Police Force participated. Several oil companies and Hong Kong Response Limited also took part in the exercise.