B9, ENVIRONMENT

IMO Polar Code

POLLUTION PREVENTION
IN POLAR WATERS

1 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021 Presentation name / Author
 BASIC PRINCIPLES, POLAR CODE

CHAPTER 1 – PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY OIL

Operational requirements
✓ in Arctic waters any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from any ship is prohibited.
Clean or segregated ballast not included
✓ a category A ship constructed before 1 January 2017 that cannot comply can get a grace period (next survey)

Structural requirements
✓ new A and B ships 2017 onwards, all oil fuel tanks shall be separated from the outer shell by at least 0.76 m
✓ new A and B ships (not tankers) 2017 onwards, all cargo tanks carrying oil shall be separated from the outer
shell by at least 0.76 m.
✓ new A and B oil tankers < 5000 dwt 2017 onwards, the entire cargo tank length shall be protected
with double bottom tanks and wing tanks
✓ new A and B ships 2017onwards all sludge, bilge water holding tanks etc lbe separated
from the outer shell by at least 0.76 m.

2 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

 BASIC PRINCIPLES, POLAR CODE

CHAPTER 2 – CONTROL OF POLLUTION BY NOXIOUS LIQUID SUBSTANCES IN BULK

✓ In Arctic waters any discharge into the sea of noxious liquid substances (NLS),
or mixtures containing such substances, is prohibited.

✓ Operation in polar waters shall be taken into account in the Cargo Record Book and SMPE

3 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

 BASIC PRINCIPLES, POLAR CODE

CHAPTER 4 – PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY SEWAGE FROM SHIPS

Operational requirements
✓ Discharges of sewage within polar waters are prohibited, except:
• The ship is discharging comminuted and disinfected sewage at a distance of
more than 3 nautical miles from any ice-shelf or fast ice and as far as possible
from drift ice. If not treated as above, distance is 12 nm.
• The ship has in operation an approved sewage treatment plant, as far as
practicable from the nearest land, any ice-shelf, fast ice or areas of ice
concentration exceeding 1/10.
• New category A and B ships 2017 onwards and all passenger ships has to have
sewage treatment plant, otherwise no discharging allowed

4 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

 BASIC PRINCIPLES, POLAR CODE

CHAPTER 5 – PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY GARBAGE FROM SHIPS

Operational requirements

✓ In Arctic waters, discharge of food wastes is only permitted when the ship is not less than
12 nautical miles from the nearest land, nearest ice-shelf, or nearest fast ice, farther away
if possible
✓ food wastes shall be comminuted or ground
✓ food wastes shall not be discharged onto the ice;
✓ discharge of animal carcasses is prohibited; and
✓ cargo residues, cleaning agents or additives, contained in hold washing waters
has own detailed rules.

5 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

 BASIC PRINCIPLES

✓ In the Antarctic area, discharge of garbage not less than 12 nautical miles from the nearest fast ice

✓ food waste shall not be discharged onto ice

✓ Antarctic is a special area

✓ Incineration of waste in polar waters is not to covered in Polar code or MARPOL

• Environmental groups were lobbying for a prohibition:
“There should be a ban on incineration in specially vulnerable areas of the Arctic and Southern Ocean,
such as marine protected areas or other ecologically sensitive areas and within a specified distance e.g.
12nm, from the ice-face and / or land” (Proposals for provisions for inclusion in an environmental
protection chapter of the mandatory Polar Code, p. 20)

6 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

 MARPOL SPECIAL AREAS

✓ Oil, NLS and garbage

✓ Antarctic area

✓ Generally, Arctic environment is protected by the Polar Code

and Antarctic as a MARPOL special area

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IMO Polar Code

OIL SPILLS
AND
POLLUTION
 OIL SPILLS, PRINCIPLES

In ice and/or cold conditions, all oil recovery is more difficult

Three main ways of dealing with an oil spill:
✓ mechanical recovery
✓ burning
✓ dispersants
Mechanical recovery = booming and skimming.
The most environmental-friendly method. However, not very
effective and even less so in ice. The Deepwater Horizon leak was
skimmed by 3%
Finnish company LAMOR is a leading expert on skimming
techniques in ice and cold Picture source: SYKE

VIDEO (You Tube)

9 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

 OIL SPILLS, PRINCIPLES

Burning is effective but it leaves behind a residue that must also be skimmed and collected.
Uncontrolled burning of hydrocarbons also release particulate matter - soot and and other
hazardous substances

Black carbon (a component of soot) amplifies the warming process by reducing the reflection of
sunlight from snow and ice.

Chemical dispersants, e.g. Corexit 9500, break up oil slicks into smaller, water soluble
fragments. Fragile shoreline ecosystems might be saved, but the use of dispersants damages
plant and animal life in the water!

10 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

 OIL SPILLS, PRINCIPLES

Source: Response Gap study

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 POLLUTION – IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

✓ The polar waters have a multitude of species and, as all cold water areas, produce a lot of plankton,
fish, birds, small and large land and sea mammals
• Polar bear, arctic wolf, arctic fox, Pacific salmon, seals, whales, penguins, walrus,
a multitude of birds of different species
✓ Almost half of the fish caught in the United States comes from the Arctic. Its fisheries are vital
to local communities whose livelihoods depend on fishing and feed millions of people worldwide.
The Kamchatka peninsula’s river systems produce up to one-quarter of all wild Pacific salmon
✓ A pollution incident in polar waters is more devastating than in warmer waters
• Less evaporation of chemical compounds
• Less bacterial activity
• Cold causes higher viscosity, oil stays in the ecosystem for longer time
• See Exxon Valdez
✓ Underwater noise pollution is a big issue!

12 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021

IMO Polar Code

GARBAGE
AND
VESSEL WASTE
 GARBAGE AND VESSEL WASTE - NEED FOR STORAGE ON BOARD

✓ In practice, no sewage and garbage is to be discharged in or close to ice-covered waters

✓ The ships need more facilities for handling and storing sewage and garbage

✓ Onshore reception facilities are very scarce, almost non-existent

→ The operations have to be thoroughly planned and executed

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 BALLAST WATER

International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM)

Entered into force on September 8th, 2017!

15 © Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center 19/03/2021