REMPEC Conducts Workshop on Ship-Source Air Pollution
The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) -administered centre in the Mediterranean, conducted a regional workshop to identify and address ship-source air pollution in the Mediterranean last week."Political, legal and technical obstacles can sometimes challenge ratification and subsequently the effective implementation of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI air pollution and energy efficiency regulations," said a press release from IMO.Participants from 16 Mediterranean coastal States (including six which have not yet ratified MARPOL Annex VI)…
IMO Restricts Ship Sewage Discharges into Baltic Sea
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed this week that the Baltic Sea special area for sewage discharges from passenger ships under Annex IV or the MARPOL Convention will take effect by latest 2021 for IMO registered passenger vessels. If a passenger vessel has an approved sewage treatment plant, meeting all IMO standards, it may discharge its effluent in the Baltic after treatment. However, in certain cases of direct passages between St. Petersburg area and the North Sea there is a two-year extension to the deadline, until 2023. The decision follows the efforts of Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) aimed at limiting sewage discharges in the Baltic Sea from passenger vessels…
TEN-T Contributes to MonaLisa Project
The “MonaLisa” project, an action in the Baltic Sea region aimed at improving the quality of maritime transport, will benefit from €11.23 million (nearly $16 million) in EU contribution from the 2010 TEN-T Multi-Annual Call. The project, which forms part of TEN-T Priority Project 21 “Motorways of the Sea,” will run until 2013 and includes the participation of three Member States (Denmark, Finland and Sweden). The “MonaLisa” project aims at improving quality of maritime transport, safety at sea, exchange of maritime data and facilitation of environmental performance of shipping and implementation of e-Maritime relevant applications. Although three Member States are currently participating in the project, more will be able to join once the project is underway.
Estonia signs agreement with Primar Stavanger
Primar Stavanger, the international Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) center operated by the Norwegian Hydrographic Service, has recently signed a cooperation agreement with Estonia. The center now covers more than 80 percent of all ENCs available in Europe, reports marketing manager Rune H. Johnsen at Primar Stavanger. Estonia has already made 31 ENCs available, which indicate that the whole coast of this Baltic state is covered. Of these, nineteen are coastal ENCs, five harbour ENCs and seven berthing ENCs. The increased coverage of ENCs in the Baltic with Primar Stavanger fits well with the declaration from the Helsinki Commission (Helcom) and national commitments. These focus on covering all major shipping routes and every major port in these waters with ENCs by the end of 2002.
