SHIPPING
- NOT JUST OIL POLLUTION
Compared to other means of transport, and if conducted properly
in all respects, shipping has many advantages from an environmental
point of view, as well as in terms of safety and transportation
economy. This holds true despite the obvious problems of operational
discharges of oil and the ever-present risk of large-scale
pollution with oil (and chemicals) in the case of a major
accident at sea. The advantages of shipping, together with
the obvious possibilities for improvements in pollution control,
should be kept in mind when assessing the whole spectrum of
environmental problems still connected with shipping.
However, like other human activities, shipping is a source
of water and air pollution. With some notable exceptions,
a list of environmental problems from ships and shipping looks
very much like the kind of list one would come up with for
municipalities, energy plants, road traffic or industries
on land, i.e., land-based sources. To put it simply, ships
could be regarded as floating societies with a varying number
of inhabitants, from less than ten crew members on a fishing
vessel to maybe 3,0004,000 passengers and crew, sometimes
even more, on large ferries and cruising vessels (and large
aircraft carriers). Discharges
and emissions of non-oily pollution and wastes from shipping
include:
-
Emissions of various air pollutants: sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide,
particles;
- Operational
discharges of chemical wastes: cleaning agents used
in machinery spaces, and household chemicals used for washing
and cleaning in crew and/or passenger quarters;
- Accidental
discharges of large quantities of chemicals ("chemical
spills");
-
Discharge of untreated or insufficiently treated sewage;
-
Discharges of ballast water, including its contents
of living organisms (potential future invasive species);
-
Discharges of solid waste/garbage (marine litter);
-
Deliberate dumping of hazardous and industrial waste;
-
Residues from the use of toxic or otherwise environmentally
harmful substances for normal maintenance, including
antifouling paints, halogenated hydrocarbons in refrigerating
equipment and fire-extinguisher, chemicals for treatment
of water onboard, etc.
One could also add another environmental problem caused by
shipping in coastal areas: Disturbances of wildlife and natural
values due to noise, hydrodynamic effects on shores caused
by large vessels and high-speed pleasure crafts, and by high-speed
boats in wildlife reserves.
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