Monday September 4, 2000

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK - ENSUS stands for ENVironmental SUStainability but this symposium might better be termed Environmental Efforts.  This gathering of academians, shippers, government personnel and others clearly illustrates the impressive magnitude and variety of effort being put forth throughout the world to improve the standards in the maritime environmental industry. 

The first day's discussions included topics such as ship design and practices to reduce environmental impacts;  the effects of technological advances on fishing, the potential for modern windships in the commercial fleet, future trends in ship's power generation, foul-release antifouling systems, biological indications for pollutants and many more.  CQD Journal for the Maritime Environment Industry was there to bring some of these presentations at ENSUS 2000 to the industry and to the world.

Nils Telle of the Norwegian Shipowners' Association opened today's events.  Coordinator of E.U. sponsored Technologies for Reduced Environmental Impacts from Ships or TRESHIP, Telle insisted that "shipping is probably the most environmentally friendly transportation form there is."

Telle explained the challenges ship owners face in balancing cost effective operations against environmental operations in a highly competitive business.  The existence of substandard ship owners, who don't care about the environment, places extra burdens upon the owners who want to do more environmentally.  They must compete against the substandard owners and are limited in what they can afford to do environmentally.

Telle yearns for a shift in policies so that investment in environmental technologies will be profitable to ship owners.  Instead of punitive fees or taxes, he hopes to see an incentive structure to help owners profit by environmentally friendly practices.

Environmental technologies exist, he says, but they are not implemented because of economic reasons.  The shipping industry is driven to meet regulations and they cannot afford to go beyond that.

Briefs from a few of the many presentations appear below. 

Technologies for reduced environmental impacts from ships - shipbuilding, maintenance and dismantling aspects - The TRESHIP program recently published reports from a two year study in improving environmental impacts from many aspects of shipping.  These reports are partially funded by the E.U., but they were also funded and initiated by a group of shipowners including the Norwegian Shipowners Assocation.  It will be up to the companies involved to determine what future plans will come out of the results.

Brian Hayman of Det Norske Veritas AS outlined the main environmental issues where a need was identified;  a need for research and development in shipbuilding, maintenance and ship scrapping.  These include:

Ship Design

• Change hull design to improve fuel consumption and hull strength.

Hayman hopes the TRESHIP reports can lead to a set of guidelines for best management practices for shippers.

A. Morrall from British Maritime Technology continued discussions on TRESHIP reports.  His presentation focused on oil spill pollution.

According to Morrall, only 5% of the 235 million tons of oil that enter the marine environment each year come from maritime accidents.  However, 80% of maritime accidents are attributable to human factors, management style representing the most likely problem.

The key to improvements, he states, is in the area of education and training. Technology such as improved navigation systems are in use, but crews must be better trained to properly interpret and understand the data from high technology equipment.

Morrall believes there is potential for significant improvements in environmental performance through the adoption of new technologies.  Unfortunately, he says that economic conditions in shipping do not exist to adopt new pollution prevention technologies.

Considering the use of alternative antifoulings:  the advantages of foul-release systems  - M. Candries

M. Candries discussed experiments conducted at the University of Newcastle comparing foul-release systems for antifouling against the latest tin-free self polishing copolymers (SPC).  The foul-release system used was a silicone based product with surface properties designed to easily release fouling organisms adhered to a vessel's hull.

Tests conducted at speeds of up to 12 knots indicated the smoother surface characteristics of the silicone based foul-release hull coating allows for better performance compared to new SPC antifoulants.  "Results clearly indicate lower drag for foul-release systems vs. tin-free SPCs," says Candries.

Performance results declined in further tests, due to difficulties in the application process.  Candries said that proper application of the surface coating is critical.

The impact of underwater ship's husbandry on the marine environment - D. Jones

D. Jones of UMC International Plc discussed the pollution hazards involved when cleaning ships' hulls underwater.  The phase out of the use of Tributyltin (TBT) antifouling paint means shippers are increasingly requiring the use of underwater cleaning.  Jones pointed out three main practices in underwater ship maintenance and their marine pollution impacts.

1. Underwater hull cleaning - deposits large quantities of hull material in addition to the fouling organisms.  Some ports have banned underwater hull cleaning because of the input of toxic antifouling paint particles into the local environment.
2. Propeller Polishing - may put about 1000 kg of metal from the props in to the sea.
3. Underwater Cleaning Vehicles - circulate hydraulic fluids such as mechanical oil.  There is a danger of pollutant input if parts of the cleaning vehicles are broken and the hydraulic fluid enters the local environment. 

Jones noted that few improvements have been made in 25 years in the underwater ship's husbandry industry because the effectiveness of TBT in antifouling paints killed off research and development funding.

Invasive species in ballast water - T. Wilkins

T Wilkins of INTERTANKO, the shipping organization of tanker owners, explained the overall situation in the global ballast water invasive species problem.

Environmentally, he reviewed documented consequences from invasive species such as detrimental effects on fishing and coastal industries, potential invasive pathogens and safety issues.

On the Regulations side, he outlined current efforts at the International Maritime Organizations to drum up worldwide guidelines for ballast water treatment.  He also mentioned the difficulties ship owners will face if local/national response regulations prevail such as seen in Australia, Argentina and the United States.

Wilkins spent some time explaining Deep Sea Ballast Water Exchange as well as plans for alternate treatment methods for ballast water.  With regards to new technologies, Wilkins noted we must "ensure that owners/operators know what is required of them."  Worldwide legislation must outline the requirements that new alternatives must meet including:

• Universal acceptance by all port states, low maintenance requirements, safe for the crew and no environmental side effects.
• Owners also need to know what standard of effectiveness, i.e. mortality level of invasive species, will be acceptable, how will that effectiveness be measured and who is responsible for measuring the effectiveness.

CQD Journal World Wire -  NPCA Coverage - G. Swain on foul-release systems and silicone based hull surfaces.

CQD Journal World Wire -  MEPC 44 Coverage - report on invasive species.

CQD Journal, June 2000, Vol. 6.3 - National Shipbuilding Research Program

CQD Journal Topic Listing - alphabetical listing of topics covered by CQD Journal

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This page last updated by Miller Associates: Thursday, June 05, 2003