Some Ecological Aspects Of A Problem
SOME ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF A PROBLEM
OF SHIPPING SAFETY IN UKRAINE
V. Rabotnyov
Shipping Safety Inspectorate of Ukraine
Safety of navigation (or shipping safety) determined usually as such condition of maritime and inland water transport at which its activity is carried out without any excessive risk for human life, property and environment is directly connected with ecological safety of the seas, including Black Sea. The integral part of safety of navigation is state policy towards main objects of navigation, such as:
- to man – his life, health, property, right of use of sea and river waters and coast for work, rest, sports, right of use of water resources, including navigation purposes;
- vessel – its condition, conditions of navigation and human presence onboard;
- waterways – their suitability for use, definition of conditions of navigation; and,
- environment – its protection from negative influence of navigation.
The necessity of protection of marine environment from negative influence of navigation, that is prevention of marine pollution from ships, has been realized by the mankind much earlier than many other problems of ecological nature. It were early 1920th years when the laws limited oil dumping from ships have been entered into force in Great Britain and the USA. Unfortunately, it has appeared impossible to protect the sea from negative influence by such laws only. Dynamical development of marine environment protection culture at all levels: shipbuilding, training of seamen, transportation of cargo and cargo handling onboard and on shore, became reality only due to the acceptance of International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from ships (MARPOL 73/78) both internationally and with approve of the majority of marine states.
This general standard of ecological safety became a real “corner stone” of state policy for the overwhelming majority of marine states. And first of all for the young states which carry out the updating of there state policy and its legal grounding. Ukraine certainly is within such states.
While having inherited from the former USSR a quite powerful infrastructure of maritime and inland water transport, Ukraine however has not received sufficient administrative and legal resources for state management and supervision of its activity. First of all it has happened due to the fact that the maritime transport management (unlike inland water transport) was carried out earlier from the Union’s centre. Besides this the huge quantity of new international regulations (standards) was entered just in 1990th, that is when their implementation into our national navigation has been considerably complicated. It relates first of all to the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, International Convention on Oil Pollution Readiness, Response and Cooperation and others.
The practice of state management of shipping safety (which is indissoluble from the ecological safety of ships) in developed countries shows that necessary attribute of such system should be the so-called Maritime Administration. Rules of international instruments (marine conventions) developed within the framework of such authoritative bodies of United Nations Organization as International Maritime Organization (IMO) are based on this notion as on integral and of paramount importance factor for functioning of whole state shipping safety system. The responsibility of the state, its tasks and functions connected with shipping safety within the framework of these instruments may be subdivided as the following:
- Port State, that is functions of the state, which ports are open for entering of ships flying not only national but also foreign flags;
- Flag State, that is function of the state, which permits to fly under its flag to ships and is responsible for such ships and people onboard;
- Coast State, that is functions related to granting for peaceful passing in its territorial and inland waters sea and river waterways.
Conclusive advantage of such organization is the fact that it appears needless for the state to develop national standards of ecological safety for the ships. The only thing - is to implement international rules into national legislation in terms synchronized with international requirements.
For realizing of this scheme in Ukraine the State Department of Maritime and Inland Water Transport has developed in 1998 the Program of Increasing of Shipping and Ecological Safety for the period till 2005 (within the framework of the uniform Program of Stabilization and Development both maritime and inland water transport of Ukraine for the period till 2005). A number of tasks put in the program is successfully resolved or is in their final stage.
The organizational scheme of state management and control on maritime and inland water transport has been changed first of all. According to the decision of the Government Shipping Safety Inspectorate of Ukraine has been established. The fact that it was responsible for the fulfilling of basic functions of Maritime Administration of Ukraine and the subsequent designation (in 2000) of the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine to act as Maritime Administration have finished de jury the important stage of state building as maritime power.
Such major problems of shipping safety as establishment of uniform supervision authority for the marine and inland waterways, creation and development of Regional Shipping Safety Inspections, implementing of the institute of a so-called Port State Control, ordering of normative and legal activity on maritime and inland water transport and many others have been addressed respectively since this term.
During the same period the System of legal measures on regulation of work of maritime and inland water transport was developed. And firstly it touched such questions as shipping safety and pollution prevention from ships. The following steps may be added to these measures:
- new edition of the Code of Trade Navigation of Ukraine;
- the systematized amendments to a number of the decisions of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine concerning major aspects of shipping safety;
- renewal of work on the Code of Inland Water Navigation and others.
Certainly the Concept of establishment and functioning of State System of Shipping Safety in Ukraine (SSSSU) proved to be the major document of the last time. Developed by the Ministry of Transport and Shipping Safety Inspectorate of Ukraine it is now at a stage of the final legal analysis before it\’s approve in the Government.
The same principles of organization of state system which in the international maritime conventions are laid in a basis of SSSSU. Shipping safety acts as the important element of national safety of the state. According to the provision about SSSSU the system of maintenance, management and supervision gets slim and internally ordered shape. In its functions SSSSU is based on strict differentiation of duties, rights and responsibilities which is inherent to any successfully operated system.
A number of SSSSU tasks are indissoluble from ecological aspect of work of maritime and inland water transport. For example, the following:
- reduction of risk of negative consequences resulting from shipping influence on an environment;
- adjustment of shipping ecological safety with the international and national requirements;
- formation of the balanced state policy and effective realization of a complex of the coordinated actions on protection of national interests in the sphere of shipping;
- implementation of a functional principle of shipping safety management, exception of duplication in management, supervision and control;
- planning of development of shipping safety system as one unit;
- adjustment of technical condition of Ukrainian ships, communication facilities and navigating maintenance, port structures and other infrastructure objects up to a level of the national and international safety standards;
- realization of uniform scientific and technical policy, speeding up the implementation of new technologies, achievement of science and engineering;
- preservation and increase of scientific, technical and intellectual potential of shipping;
- creation of the perfect and reliable mechanism of decisions’ financing on shipping safety.
The acceptance of the aforesaid Concept will certainly act as important step towards European integration of Ukraine, will allow to speed up implementation of the international principles of ecological safety on maritime and inland water transport of Ukraine.
And it is high time for this. Plenty of the amendments, hardening the requirements to ships and on-shore facilities were included for the last years only in MARPOL 73/78. First of all is new Annex VI to the Convention called "Prevention of air pollution", imposing a lot of restrictions on ship power installation work: the main engines of ships, ship refrigerator systems, fire protection systems and incinerators.
It is in preparation stage to be accepted on International Conference in 2001 Ban on use on ships of the so-called anti-fouling systems, which have tri-butyl-tin covering.
And finally it is underway the work on a problem, which is of utmost importance for the World Ocean. I mean prevention of transfer of unwanted marine organisms and pathogens in ship ballast. The problem, which has caused irreplaceable losses to many areas of World Ocean, has risen in complete growth before mankind over last decades only. Most typical example may be found nowadays in any edition devoted to this problem.
Specific examples include the introduction of the European zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in the North American Great Lakes, resulting in expenses of billions of dollars for pollution control and cleaning of fouled underwater structures and waterpipes and the introduction of the American comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) to the Black and Azov Seas, causing the near extinction of anchovy and sprat fisheries.
This and previous case are connected (which is more probably) with dump of ship ballast waters.
One more classical example: the rapid spread of the Japanese seaweed Undaria pinnatifida along Australia\’s Tasmanian east coast has disastrous effects on the abalone industry and presenting a threat to oyster and mussel farms.
The IMO is engaged in development of adequate measures to this problem not a single year. It has been prepared and implemented a number of basic documents, including resolutions of IMO Assembly. Special Working Group with representatives from the most interested countries works intensively. But the problem has proved to be so complex in reality as well as it requires such universality and responsibility as for the decision to be made that the ready recipes on its prompt resolving have not been found till nowadays. The most simple way that is replacement of unwanted ballast with that one more suitable for discharge in port on ecological and hygienic parameters has appeared also most artful. Even by the most cautious estimations of the experts (and the researches in this area were carried out by the most authoritative organizations such as the Lloid’s Register) consecutive discharge and acceptance of ballast (which is most widespread method of its replacement) results to essential and more precisely speaking inadmissible reduction of ships safety. For example, such ship’s parameters as controllability, intact platform stability, longitudinal durability, visual visibility for ship operator from navigating bridge and others are left under allowable framework. The uniqueness of this situation is that in pursuit for the simple solution of one ecological problem shipping industry involves itself in another: risk of ship’s destruction resulting from ballast replacement with all following consequences for her crew, marine environment and coast. This method is especially dangerous while thoughtless application on tankers and bulk ships.
The search for alternative methods including methods of ballast water treatment, designation of especially dangerous areas for ballast reception and dumping has not given any exact and clear results. It is worth to be said that in recent years it appeared certain progress in this area on the basis of a so-called two-pillars approach. It means that the requirements applicable for all ships (the first pillar) are defined irrespective of ship’s navigation area and are formulated as a concrete complex of organizational, technical and ecological measures. Second pillar consists of those requirements showed to ships depending on their navigation area and accordingly on danger resulting from ballast transfer on this or those routes.
A Cooperative International GEF/UNDP/IMO Project ‘Removal of Barriers to the Effective Implementation of Control and Management in Developing Countries’ (Global Ballast Water Management Program) is worth to be mentioned here as well. The three-year project is carried out under direct management of IMO in six countries of different continents: Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ukraine and South Africa. The fact that Odessa has been included within the framework of the project to act as East-European Demonstration Site one more time proves the idea that ecological consequences of unwanted organisms’ introduction into our ecological system seriously worries the global community and is one of real sore ecological problems of World Ocean.
Shipping Safety Inspectorate of Ukraine is governmental agency responsible for carrying out the work within the framework of the project in Ukraine. Unfortunately the details of the project activities are laid out of this my present report. It is possible to find some particularities on IMO web-site (www.imo.org) where all relevant information regardless IMO’s work is systematized in proper way.
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