Port waste reception facilities in UK ports Iwan Ball

The ability to comply fully with the discharge requirements set out in the MARPOL 73/78 Convention depends upon the availability of adequate facilities on land for the reception of shipgenerated waste. This paper considers ways of ensuring adequate provision of reception facilities, and discusses the approach taken by the UK to reduce the amount of pollution entering the marine environment from the deliberate discharge of waste from ships. Arguably, the most significant of the measures adopted by the UK is the requirement for all ports and harbours to prepare port waste management plans. Disincentives to the use of port waste reception facilities are examined, together with the benefits and shortcomings of various financing arrangements, and compulsory discharge of waste in ports. The paper concludes that the statutory approach to improving the provision and use of waste facilities should be supported by an appropriate awareness campaign to educate shipowners about the need to discharge waste legally to port reception facilities.     

Questionnaire-based assessment of Mediterranean fishing ports,Nile Delta,Egypt

The fisheries sector is a significant contributor to the Egyptian economy. Recently, issues relating to fishing ports have been highlighted in port planning, availability of facilities, management, and environmental issues. Additional problems include Egypt's lack of specific guidelines for planning and design of fishing ports. This paper aims to assess the current status of five fishing ports (both natural and artificial) located along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Data were collected via a questionnaire supplied directly to the fishermen. The questionnaire contains two sections that cover information regarding the fishermen and fishing vessels. There are sections to assess the degree of satisfaction of the fishermen regarding economic, environmental, planning, facilities, and managerial issues. 250 fishermen received the questionnaire. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results confirm that the fishing ports are negatively affected by a number issues, as well as management deficiencies, resulting in several weaknesses. The main issues include pollution, sedimentation, deterioration of infrastructure, and lack of port facilities. It is recommended that decision-makers should develop monitoring tools and improve infrastructure and services. Recommendations are made for future development to enable the expansion in the fishing industry and improve the sustainability of fishing ports.     

Fill the gap: Developing management strategies to control garbage pollution from fishing vessels

It is widely documented that marine debris is detrimental to the marine ecological environment. While there are various sources of marine debris, that generated by ships constitutes a significant proportion. Annex V of MARPOL 73/78 is to regulate the discharge of garbage from ships; in particular, it prohibits all kinds of plastics from being discharged into ocean. However, most fishing vessels are virtually exempt from such regulations due to their low gross tonnage, below 400 t. Given the great number of fishing vessels operating around the world, it can be argued that fishing vessels are a common source of marine debris. This paper aims to propose measures that will fill the gap in international regulations in addressing the problem of vessel-source garbage pollution. An understanding of what constitutes the underlying causes leading to fishers' decision on debris disposal is needed when designing effective measures to reduce garbage pollution from ships. Thus, this paper seeks to identify factors that have the potential to influence fishers' disposal behavior and investigate the association between factors and fishers' intention of bringing garbage back to port. Major factors of a well-developed recycling practice, adequate collection facilities placed at port, fishers' positive views towards marine environments and provision of rewards are identified, which have significant implications for management strategies. Finally, the papers offers suggestions regarding future efforts focusing on debris reduction strategies to further address the problem of garbage pollution from fishing vessels.     

Environmental issues with Australian ports

Ports and shipping operations are under increased environmental scrutiny in Australia, particularly as so many of Australia's ports and shipping routes are located in or near major environmentally sensitive areas. The environmental risks involved have been highlighted by the publicity given to shipping accidents. Environmental regulations over aspects of port operations, including ballast water management, dredge spoil and waste reception, are also becoming stricter. While port authorities have adopted stringent environmental guidelines, they remain concerned that the full impact of proposed new environmental regulations on maritime industry may not be fully understood. This paper discusses some of the issues involved with achieving a balance between environmental protection and the need to recognise the importance of seaborne trade to Australia and to maintain Australia's competitiveness in international trade.     

Investigation of strategies to improve the recycling effectiveness of waste oil from fishing vessels

The marine ecological environment and fishery resources can be severely polluted or destroyed by waste oil from fishing vessels if they are emitted directly into the ocean without any proper pre-treatment process. International conventions such as MARPOL 73/78 regulate waste-oil emissions and require the installation of a waste oil–water separator only for ocean-going ships of over 400 gross tons. Hence, these international conventions are not applicable to most fishing ships due to their low gross tonnages. In addition, space on most fishing vessels is too limited to allow waste-oil storage tanks or a waste oil-water separator to comply with international maritime regulations. Because a significant amount of waste oil is produced by fishing vessels around the world every day, effective strategies or measures are needed to prevent this waste oil from polluting the marine environment. This study thus investigates strategies and measures for improving the effectiveness of waste-oil collection from fishing vessels. This study found that existing procedures for the collection and treatment of waste lubricating oil on land could be applied to the management of waste oil and bilge water from fishing vessels. Sufficient oil–water separators and storage facilities for the collection of waste oil should be placed at each fishing port and shipyard. Fishermen should then be required to deliver their waste oil to these storage facilities, from where it can be transported to legal recycling companies for further treatment. In addition, fishing harbor authorities should bear definitive responsibility for monitoring the illegal dumping of waste oil and for checking the waste-oil record books of fishing vessels. Each maritime country should enforce relevant laws and regulations to reduce the emission of waste oil from fishing vessels into the ocean.     

Hydrobiological studies of the ballast waters of cargo ships in Russian Sea ports

The results of the first studies on the ballast waters of commercial vessels in Novorossiysk and Vladivostok ports are presented. Data on the composition of the flora and fauna, their abundance, viability, and the origin of the species were obtained. In the zooplankton from the ballast waters sampled in the Novorossiysk port, 31 species of holoplankton and 15 species of meroplankton were found. The total number of zooplankton varied from 1.3 to 60 thousand ind./m³. The Mediterranean basin, providing 62% of the ballast waters, represents a vector of the greatest risk. In the port of Vladivostok, in the ballast waters of the vessels of the Russian-Japanese and Russian-Chinese lines, 45 species of microalgae, 24 species of zooplankton, 22 species of meroplankton, and 10 groups of meiofauna were revealed. In addition, 24 species of microscopic filamentous fungi were identified and 28 morphologically distinguishable strains of bacteria were isolated (in total not less than 153 species). The basic “groups of risk” for bioinvasions in the basins of the Black Sea and the seas of the Far East were revealed. The need for control of ships’ ballast waters in Russia, which is presently lacking relevant national methodical guidelines and legislation, is substantiated.     

Incentive policy for reduction of emission from ships: A case study of China

Particulate matter (PM) emissions from ships in ports are a major contributor to air pollution and smog in port cities. The issue of how to reduce PM emissions has become a critical concern for port city residents and governments. This paper establishes an incentive policy to reduce PM emissions from ships in ports. Using a Panamax bulk carrier as a case study, eight alternative approaches that could be adopted by shipping companies are compared and their operational benefits are estimated. By restricting the analysis to emission control areas (ECAs), the net present value (NPV) model shows that the diesel particulate filter (DPF) is the most advantageous approach with the highest NPV, while the exhaust gas scrubber (EGS) approach is the most economically inefficient. Meanwhile, due to DPF's excellent performance in PM abatement, it is suggested that governments should prioritize the DPF approach when promoting the application of emission reduction technologies. From the perspective of social welfare, a positive social benefit of about US $20,000 will be generated over the life cycle of a ship. However, a low government pricing in China will reduce shipping companies’ operational performance as the emission control zone (ECZ) gradually expands. As a result, an appropriate subsidy scheme is necessary to encourage shipping companies to apply emission reduction technologies.     

United Kingdom ports policy: Changing government attitudes

The United Kingdom ports industry has been at the forefront of international trade and, therefore, cargo movement since the industrial revolution. Its contribution to the wider economy is still pivotal, handling the majority of the UK's trade. At this point in time, particularly with the government in the process of reviewing the future of its policy for the ports industry through it Ports Policy Review, it is pertinent to assess the forces, which are both driving port development and seeking to restrain unfettered growth. This paper, therefore considers the role of government and how it has shaped, and is continuing to shape, the UK ports industry.     

Construction in the coastal zone: A potential use of waste materials

The Inner New York Bight, at the head of the Hudson shelf channel, has been the site for ocean disposal of various waste products since at least 1888. Natural channel-like bathymetry expressed in 1845 is today a series of hills rising to within 12 m (40 ft.) of the water surface superimposed upon a broad lobate mound. This topographic inversion created over the past nine decades is attributable to disposal of materials (soil, sand, and stone) of varying composition generated during construction in the New York metropolitan area. Data indicate approximately 765 · 10⁶ m³ (1 · 10⁹ yd³) of waste has been dumped in that region from 1888 to 1934. Isopach maps, sea-floor profiles, seismic records, and vibratory cores show much of the fill has remained in place in spite of bottom currents of approximately 25 cm/sec (0.5 knot) and a wave climate of H_s = 0.76 m (2.5 ft.); T = 5?15 sec. Man-made islands proposed for the inner continental shelf for siting power, port, or recreational facilities will use large volumes of stable material for core fill, which could be waste materials such as those described. Effective regional coastal-zone planning should recognize uses for past and future waste material as such practices would conserve sand and gravel resources for other high-volume needs (shoreline nourishment and protection and construction aggregate) and alleviate some of the site-selection problems in land disposal of waste.     

The environmental impacts of pollutants generated by routine shipping operations on ports

The environmental impacts generated by shipping operations have increasingly become an important research topic, where its pollutants often pose negative externalities to natural habitats and economic losses to coastal areas. While the environmental impact costs generated by shipping disasters, notably large scale accidental oil spills, have been widely studied, hitherto, works dedicated to the assessment of environmental impact costs of pollutants generated by routine shipping operations remain scarce due to their relatively implicit nature and thus delays of consequential risks. Hence, by proposing an economic model and calibrating it to Port of Rotterdam, this paper assesses the environmental impact costs generated by routine shipping operations on ports. By shedding light on this important, but under-researched, issue critical to the well-being of the global shipping industry, this paper provides a decent framework for further research in sustainable shipping and port management for future generations.     

Real-time acceleration monitoring-based rapid earthquake response for ports in Korea

To establish viable earthquake counterplans for ports in Korea, data regarding earthquake motion on the ground and in buildings must be collected using acceleration monitoring systems. Acceleration monitoring-based strategies for port facilities are useful not only for ensuring rapid responses during and after earthquakes but also for regional data collection to assist reliable seismic design. Acceleration monitoring systems were installed at coastal facility sites in target ports, including a soil site to represent the facility and a rock site as a reference. The systematic earthquake alert software was designed to help them in decision-making about a possible seismic hazard and its reporting. The earthquake alert system was composed of two sequential functional software systems sharing an acceleration monitoring database applied to the target ports. The earthquake response software system triggers an alarm based on the peak ground acceleration per second computed from the monitored data. Then, the earthquake hazard estimation software system evaluates possible earthquake-induced site-specific geotechnical hazards linked to the peak ground acceleration. The integrated system was successfully operated and was able to rapidly provide an emergency report containing event records and geotechnical earthquake hazards during the September 2016 Gyeongju earthquake, the largest recorded earthquake in Korea.     

Political risk assessment of five East Asian ports—the viewpoints of global carriers

This study develops a port-to-port comparative political risk assessment and conducts a case study of the political environment evaluations of five East Asian ports: Hong Kong, Singapore, Busan, Kaohsiung and Shanghai. This system approach consists of political risk factor identification, risk measurement and assessment processes using the three methods of Delphi, analytic hierarchy process and Ward's clustering. Fifteen high-ranking managers from five leading global carriers present their viewpoints for analysis. The empirical case concluded that political risk was a strong indictor for the business environments of the host ports. Jointly, the micro-risks resulting from the port development and management policies were considered to be more significant than the macrorisks from the integrated political and economics conditions. Political risks of the five host ports were assessed as ranging from 0.17 to 0.38, so these ports were considered to be politically secure for the global carrier business. Finally, the five ports were statistically clustered into three groups to signify the differences in their political environments.     

Competitive policies for commercial sea ports in the EU

The globalisation of the economy and the need for sustainable growth are having a strong influence on international sea freight transport and its infrastructures. Commercial sea ports, faced with the loss in ‘loyalty’ of their traffic and the appearance of ‘new rules in the game’, are developing new strategies in order to achieve the loyalty of their clients. The present paper is a reflection on the findings generated in recent years in the area of competitive port policies. The main focus is on the formulation of commercial and technological strategies, the new legislative framework and its consequences for the European Union in the context of the future ‘Common Ports Policy’.     

Plastics and South Pacific Island shores: environmental implications

Studies from South Pacific Islands, some of which are uninhabited, as well as eastern Australia and New Zealand, show that discarded plastics are a significant pollutant of shorelines and adjacent coastal and oceanic waters. Environmental impacts include: death and/or debilitation of wildlife through entanglement and ingestion, reductions in quality of life and reproductive performance, hazards to shipping and possibly health, and a vector for the introduction of alien taxa that may endanger island ecosystems or traditional seafood resources. This material is also aesthetically distasteful.Blame for this pollution has been placed largely on indiscriminate disposal of plastic by vessels at sea. However, there is a growing appreciation that much shoreline litter has urban sources reflecting inadequate disposal practices as well as recreational visitors. Increasing population pressures and shipping activities around the region will lead to ever-growing quantities of unsightly plastic litter on shorelines of the region and experience elsewhere suggests this could be to the detriment of tourism.The problems need to be addressed through the Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region with common regional management policies developed similar to those now in place for the Caribbean. These should focus on waste disposal practices and identification of sites suitable for land-fill operations as well as development of port reception facilities. Alleviation of the problems may also come from Annex V of MARPOL and the London Dumping Convention, but ultimately the solutions will have to be regional in character and involve education sensitive to local cultures.     

Relations between professional groups in the Atlantic and Mediterranean fishing enclaves of Andalusia (Spain): A personal networks approach with clustered graphs

This paper proposes a new network-based approach to analyse intergroup relations in fishing ports. The technique of clustered graphs is applied to the case of the Andalusian fishing ports to assess the balance between intra and inter-professional relationships. The patterns of sociability in Mediterranean and Atlantic fishing enclaves in the southern region of Spain were compared, examining their implications for participatory governance of marine resources. The personal networks of 53 fishermen, ship owners or skippers and key individuals of 18 Andalusian fisheries were analysed. The personal networks were compared in terms of fishing ground (Atlantic versus Mediterranean) and port type (by size and form of participation). The data of 45 individuals with whom each respondent usually interacts in the harbour was summarised in clustered graphs of intra-group and inter-group relationships between 8 professional roles in the harbour. Results show primarily that personal networks of Mediterranean ports are overall denser, in comparison with those of the Atlantic, which are more centralised and have a higher average betweenness. Secondly, in the Atlantic a clear difference of roles between ship owners and skippers is observed. A strong link between ship owners and the crew was found, and also between the ship owner and commercial roles in the Mediterranean. Small ports seem to be more apt for the artisanalisation of fisheries, as well as for the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy.     

Compliance with international emission regulations: Reducing the air pollution from merchant vessels

In September 1997, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted an international convention protocol to reduce air pollution from ships, in order to achieve sustainable maritime development. This protocol has been approved by 15 member countries and will be enforced in May 2005. Pollutants emitted from ships, such as nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, sulfur oxides, etc. will be regulated by this convention through ship inspections and issuance of certificates. Ships belonging to maritime countries such as Taiwan, which sail around the world and berth in commercial ports, must obey this convention. This study has investigated possible strategies, which may be adopted by maritime countries to conform to this IMO convention in order to reduce the air pollution from ships. A sea-going ship must prepare EIAPP and IAPP certificates for inspection by port-state-control officials, when the ship is anchored at a maritime port. These port-state-control officials may also require the continuous detection and sampling of a ship's emissions, while it is berthed at the port. Legislative support is necessary for successful implementation of these safeguards. It is suggested, therefore, that the administration of both navigational and environmental protection, in maritime countries, cooperate in the revision of relevant federal laws, to implement the provisions of the MARPOL 73/78/97 convention; in this way, the air pollution from ships can be effectively controlled. Installation of advanced detection equipment can effectively detect any ships’ violations of air pollution regulations. The Harbor Affairs’ Bureau should also establish a database of air pollution inspections for ships berthed within their harbor, requiring that ships’ equipment comply with the requirements of the MARPOL convention, for the reduction of air pollution.     

Ballasting outside port to prevent spread of butyltin from merchant ships

Most international discussions on ballast water management onboard ships have been virtually on the prevention of the transport of biotic alien species. This study focuses on how to improve this limited knowledge regarding the transport of butyltin compounds via ballasting. Butyltin compounds in ballast water, extracted from three sea-going merchant ships with similar voyage routes and berth ports but with different ballasting practices, were determined. Only monobutyltin (8–57 ng l^?1) and dibutyltin (10–32 ng l^?1) onboard two general cargo ships were detected in the ballast water taken outside the ports. In contrast, significant tributyltin (23–93 ng l^?1) was detected onboard the container ship in the ballast water pumped inside the loading/unloading ports. The comparison results from this study indicate that the risk of tributyltin transfer may be effectively prevented by ballasting outside the ports.     

Fisheries traffic: The poor relation of port devolution. Lessons from Spanish state ports of general interest

The fisheries sector is currently contending with the hectic development of its own political economy framework being convulsed by the dynamics of decentralisation. This process is enshrouded in an environment of economic globalisation, taking place against the backdrop of the governance approach. With this situation as the starting point, the main goal of this paper is to quantify the effects that the Spanish port devolution process might have on the Spanish fisheries sector through the use of a transfer function model; the volumes of landings at State ports of general interest and their cash value are taken as dependent variables.     

Safety and CO2 emissions: Implications of using organic fluids in a ship’s waste heat recovery system

This paper considers the practical application of exhaust gas waste heat recovery from the main engines of merchant ships. A water-based Rankine Cycle is used as a baseline and this is compared with five organic Rankine cycle systems using benzene, heptane, hexamethyldisiloxane, toluene and R245fa. The thermodynamic model of the waste heat recovery system is described. This is then applied in a case study utilising an Aframax tanker. The case study allows the comparison of the different waste heat recovery systems in more realistic scenarios. The efficiency of the different systems is compared as well as their potential to reduce CO₂ emissions, ship impact, and economic viability are also discussed. The paper closes with consideration of the safety and regulatory issues associated with the use of organic fluids in the marine environment.     

A knowledge based expert system for design of berthing structures

Rapid growth in the water transport system demands the construction of more port and harbour structures. Berthing structures are constructed in ports and harbours to provide facilities such as berthing and mooring of vessels, loading and unloading of cargo and embarking and disembarking of passengers. Quays, wharfs, piers, jetties and dolphins are the most widely used berthing structures. The construction and maintenance of these structures are very expensive and, therefore, the most economical design should be adopted. These structures will be checked against limit state of crack, which is important in respect to preventing corrosion. A knowledge based expert system, KNOWBESTD, has been developed using LEVEL5 OBJECT for the design of berthing structures. This paper describes the development of KNOWBESTD and illustrates the design of a typical berthing structure.