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Oil Pollution Prevention News

16 Apr 2021

Algoma Fined for US Dumping Violations

Canadian shipping company Algoma Central Corporation was fined $500,000 in the U.S. after pleading guilty to dumping wastewater into Lake Ontario.One of the Great Lakes operator's dry bulk carriers, the Algoma Strongfield, was built in China and delivered to Canada on May 30, 2017, by a crew from Redwise Maritime Services, B.V., a vessel transport company based in the Netherlands.During the delivery voyage, while manned by a Redwise crew, the oily water separator and oil content monitor malfunctioned or failed on multiple occasions, which resulted in an accumulation of unprocessed oily bilge water. On May 5, 2017, an Algoma employee…

19 Aug 2020

Wakashio Spill Highlights Importance of Adopting Latest International Legal Instruments

(Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)

The ongoing oil pollution incident from the grounded 203,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Wakashio is threatening an ecological catastrophe around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, endangering corals, fish and other marine life already under threat from climate change (IPCC 2018).In addition, it risks bringing devastating consequences for the economy, food security, health and tourism industry. Tourism in Mauritius - a popular destination for its pristine beaches - reportedly contributed about $1.6 billion to its economy during the last year…

28 Nov 2019

Jongen Deploys Damen's Mobile BWTS

German maritime waste specialist Jongen GmbH has taken delivery of a Damen InvaSave 300 mobile ballast water treatment system (BWTS), which will protect the Elbe from invasive Species.Jongen can now offer IMO-certified ballast water treatment services to ship operators needing to comply with the latest ballast water regulations that came into effect on 8 September 2019.Jongen GmbH delivers waste oil, waste water, and the waste removal services for maritime traffic in the Port of Hamburg. The company’s services include the cleaning of the ships’ storage tanks and machinery along with the management and cleaning of oil spills.The addition…

03 Jul 2019

Optimarin H1 Revenues Soar as BWMS Market Picks Up

Ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin reports positive developments in the market today, with the first six months of 2019 showing a year-on-year doubling of revenues, orders and a substantial increase in EBITDA. The Norwegian-headquartered company, has recorded increased business activity in key shipping areas such as North West Europe, South East Asia and the Mediterranean, while segments such as offshore are showing signs of recovery. “It’s a multi-faceted picture…

24 May 2019

Teaching Teenagers About Oil Spill Issues

Discussions on oil pollution prevention, preparedness and response took centre stage this week (20-24 May) at the latest edition of Spillcon 2019 in Perth, Australia.The forum included sessions on cause and prevention, response management and environmental issues.A raft of high calibre national and international speakers addressed the conference on their particular areas of expertise. However, this year, the audience also invited 12 to 15 years olds to join the event to learn more about issues related to environmental protection, oil and chemical pollution, preparedness and response. The curious students took part in a range of activities…

10 Jul 2018

The EPA's Clean Water Act and Understanding VGP

The Vessel General Permit (VGP) falls under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), better known as the Clean Water Act. It is administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an agency not well known or understood by the maritime industry.For years, the EPA had adopted a policy of broadly exempting discharges into the water that were incidental to normal operation of vessels. That changed after environmental advocacy groups prevailed in a judicial challenge. The first iteration of the VGP entered into effect in 2008 and remained in effect until replaced by the current iteration in 2013.

05 Mar 2018

IMO/MARPOL Amendments Enter Into Force

Requirements for ships to collect data on their fuel oil consumption entered into force on 1 March. Other important amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) have also entered into force, covering the classification of garbage, including the addition of a new category of “e-waste”, and amendments to the International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate. The ship fuel oil consumption data reporting requirements are the latest mandatory requirements aimed at enhancing the energy efficiency of international shipping. The data collection will begin on 1 January 2019 with data reported at the end of each calendar year to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…

01 Feb 2018

Wärtsilä See Increase of BWMS Retrofit Service

Aquarius (Photo:  Wärtsilä)

With entry into force of the ballast water treatment regulation now less than two years away, Wärtsilä BWMS and scrubber retrofit engineering services are seeing considerable increase in interest in their experience and risk reduction offerings. The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Convention for Ballast Water Management entered into force on September 8, 2017. To meet the IMO requirements, nearly all merchant vessels above 400 gross register tonnes (GRT) will have…

08 Sep 2017

Global Treaty to Halt Invasive Aquatic Species On

A key international measure for environmental protection that aims to stop the spread of potentially invasive aquatic species in ships’ ballast water enters into force today (8 September 2017). The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) requires ships to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments. The BWM Convention was adopted in 2004 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for developing global standards for ship safety and security and for the protection of the marine environment and the atmosphere from any harmful impacts of shipping.

28 Aug 2017

MEPC 71: Ballast Water Management Update

© Sunsinger/Shutterstock.com

Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 71 was a very busy week and ship owners can now benefit from having a firm view of the regulatory timeline for complying with the latest global require-ments for managing the ballast water from their vessels. Unfortunately, the timeline remains very crowded and for owners with ships trading to and from the U.S., compliance is more complicated. While some deadlines were eased to reflect the fact that many dates from the original BWM Convention had lapsed while consensus was being reached…

10 Jul 2017

ICS Pleased with IMO's Enviromental Progress

Simon Bennett (Photo: ICS)

Commenting on the outcome of last week’s meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – which represents the world’s national shipowners’ associations – says it is pleased with the progress made by IMO Member States on a number of critical environmental regulatory issues that will have a profound impact on the future structure of the global shipping industry. ICS says that IMO…

28 Jun 2017

Ballast Water Convention Fate in the Balance -Coldharbour CEO

Andrew Marshall (Photo: Coldharbour)

Delegates at the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee 71, due to gather in London during the first week of July, may well have the last chance to ensure that the long-delayed Ballast Water Convention is implemented, as intended, in an orderly fashion when ships undergo their special surveys, once every five years. This, says Coldharbour Chief Executive Andrew Marshall, will ultimately decide whether the Convention’s requirements are finally fulfilled across the many thousands of ships which require ballast water treatment system installations.

19 Jun 2017

ICS Urges IMO to Set Ballast Water Implementation Dates

© tempakul / Adobe Stock

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has urged the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to back a proposal from a broad coalition of governments concerning the implementation dates for installing new ballast water treatment systems. “If this pragmatic proposal is agreed, this would allow shipping companies to identify and invest in far more robust technology to the benefit of the marine environment,” said ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe. ICS says that this IMO decision on dates…

03 Mar 2017

Oily Water Separator Systems: Practical Advice

© chokniti / Adobe Stock

Magic Pipes, 15 PPM alarms, crew familiarization, improper entries in the oil record book, oil record book not maintained: these are all terms used by various Port State Control (PSC) officers worldwide when referencing the oily water separator. When PSC so decides, it also has the option of making one of these an ISM deficiency, adding another black mark against a vessel. Nevertheless, even with such an important piece of equipment and the records documenting its proper use, both are often neglected.

16 Jan 2017

0.5% Sulphur Cap Implementation on Agenda

Work to support the smooth and effective implementation of the 0.5% m/m global sulphur cap on fuel oil used by ships will be a main focus for the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR), 4th session, which meets this week (16-20 January). The Sub-Committee will consider what additional measures may be needed to promote consistent implementation and will report with a justification and scope for further work to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71), which meets in July. The MEPC decided at its last session to implement the 0.5% limit from 1 January 2020. On other matters, the Sub-Committee is expected to finalize the draft code for the transport and handling of limited amounts of hazardous and noxious liquid substances in bulk in offshore support vessels…

21 Oct 2016

Liberia provides lead with BWMS proposal to IMO

The Liberian Maritime Administration is to introduce a proposal to the meeting of the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC70) in London on 24 October to allow certain ships additional time beyond 2020 to install adequate ballast water management systems as required under the Ballast Water Management Convention, which comes into force in September 2017. The proposal, says Liberia, would ensure that enough adequate systems and sufficient dockyard space are available. With effect from 8 September, 2017, most oceangoing ships engaged in worldwide operations will be required to install a ballast water management (BWM) system approved in accordance with IMO guidelines.

10 Oct 2016

Marshall Islands Becomes Largest Tanker Flag

Source: Clarksons Research

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry has attained status as the world's largest tanker fleet following the addition of tonnage from markets in Greece, the U.S. and Asia over the summer. The RMI flagged tanker fleet stands at 44.6 million gross tons (GT). International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), which provide administrative and technical support to the RMI Maritime and Corporate Registries, is committed to the continued decentralization of services to better support the Registry's owners and operators in every aspect of their business.

23 Dec 2015

Arctic Coast Guard Forum: Eyes and Ears Up North

Sailors aboard the fast attack submarine USS Seawolf (SSN 21) inspect the boat after surfacing through Arctic ice. Seawolf conducted routine Arctic operations. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

On October 30, 2015, at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, the heads of eight agencies fulfilling the functions of Coast Guard of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States signed a Joint Statement formally establishing the Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF). The ACGF is an independent, informal, operationally-driven organization. It is not bound by treaty, but will work in cooperation with the Arctic Council to foster safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic region.

26 Mar 2015

EALs & Oil Spill Remediation

In the wake of increased environmental scrutiny and potentially expanding liability issues, oil spill remediation continues to be of great interest to marine operations. While most outsiders think of oil spills in terms of major failures or leaks, more common oil leakage or lubricant discharges from marine equipment result in millions of gallons of oil being released into the aquatic environment each year. Leaks, which are very difficult to prevent, far outpace catastrophic events and result in lost productivity, environmental damage, costly fines and remediation and negative public image.

09 Dec 2014

Noble Pleads Guilty to Enviro Charges Surrounding Kulluk

Noble Drilling (U.S.) LLC was charged with environmental and maritime crimes for operating the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drilling unit Kulluk in violation of federal law in Alaska in 2012, the Department of Justice announced. Under the terms of a plea agreement filed in federal court today, Noble will plead guilty to eight felony offenses, pay $12.2 million dollars in fines and community service payments, implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan, and will be placed on probation for four years. In addition, Noble’s parent corporation, Noble Corporation plc, headquartered in London, England, will implement an Environmental…

16 Jun 2014

Signet Maritime Expands Offshore Fleet

Signet Arcturus

Adding to its fleet of 37 conventional and ASD vessels, Signet Maritime Corporation took ownership of its ninth newly constructed tractor tug in six years. Signet Arcturus , a 105’ x 38’ Z-Drive, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia was delivered by Patti Marine Enterprises of Pensacola, Florida on May 25, 2014. Signet Arcturus is powered by two Caterpillar model C175-16 main engines, each rated 3,417 BHP at 1,800 RPM. The engines are coupled to two Rolls-Royce US 255 CP azimuth thrusters via carbon fiber shafting…

18 Jun 2014

Signet Maritime Acquires State-of-the-art Tractor Tug

Adding to its fleet of 37 conventional and ASD vessels, Signet Maritime Corporation took ownership of its ninth newly constructed tractor tug in six years. SIGNET ARCTURUS, a 105’ x 38’ Z-Drive, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia was delivered by Patti Marine Enterprises of Pensacola, Florida on May 25, 2014. SIGNET ARCTURUS is powered by two Caterpillar model C175-16 main engines, each rated 3417 BHP at 1800 RPM. The engines are coupled to two Rolls-Royce US 255 CP azimuth thrusters via carbon fiber shafting, providing thrust for ABS certified sustained bollard pull of 83.45 metric tonnes. All Caterpillar mains and John Deere 6068TFM76 generator engines aboard the vessel are U.S. EPA Tier 3 certified for reduced emissions. Joseph W.

16 Jul 2014

Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prevention: Task Force Meets

When the Arctic Council’s Task Force on Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prevention (TFOPP) met recently in Ottawa, it says it took important steps towards developing the Action Plan for oil pollution prevention mandated by Ministers in Kiruna. The Task Force is focused particularly on potential safety measures to prevent oil pollution from maritime and petroleum activities. The Arctic Council’s Task Force on Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prevention (TFOPP) held its third meeting in Ottawa on 12-13 June, 2014. Co-chaired by Russia and Norway, the Task Force is responsible for developing an “Arctic Council Action Plan for Oil Pollution Prevention” and related cooperative arrangements…