ON-LINE EDITORIAL
JULY 1999
THE POWER OF THE PORTS
by Nick Blenkey
Editor, Marine Log
Most of us in this industry get hot under the collar when individual countries start unilaterally regulating how vessels shall be constructed or operated. Most of us would prefer that these things be negotiated internationally at IMO. It's equally bothersome when states and regions start making up their own rules. Unfortunately, this tendency for local officialdom to try and regulate a global industry is accelerating. Now port authorities and terminal operators are starting to impose requirements on visiting ships that have far reaching implications.
A case in point is the Port of Oakland, California.
Jumping the gun on both the U.S. Coast Guard and IMO, Oakland has unilaterally adopted an ordinance requiring vessels calling at the port to conduct ballast water exchange at sea to help reduce the risk of introducing non-indigenous species into the San Francisco Bay and Delta. The ordinance goes into effect next month.
To date, some 230 non-native plant and animal species, including the Asian clam, have been introduced into the San Francisco Bay and Delta. Some of these species may have been introduced through the discharge of ballast water from foreign ports.
"The Port understands the serious nature of this problem and intends to do whatever is feasible to minimize the possibility of introducing ballast-borne species into the fragile Bay ecosystem," commented John Loh, president of the Board of Port Commissioners. "While we are committed to supporting and participating in regional, statewide and national efforts to address this issue, we have also considered the impact this ordinance has on vessel and personnel safety, and the economic viability of Port operations."
The ordinance allows exemptions from the ballast water exchange requirement when conditions exist that would make such an exchange hazardous to the vessel or its crew, or when the water to be discharged originated from locations along the Pacific coast of North America.
Meanwhile, from Saudi Arabia comes news that Saudi Aramco seems likely to ban ships using hydrostatic balanced loading (HBL) from its terminals. HBL is a method of ballasting tankers so as to minimize the risk of oil outflow in the event of a hull penetration. After prolonged investigation, it has been accepted within the framework of the MARPOL convention as an acceptable means of prolonging the service life of single hull tankers beyond the 25 year mark at which they would otherwise be phased out. Saudi Aramco, though, evidently has fears that the detailed calculations for loading required in HBL operations could lead to safety problems at terminals. HBL loading also takes longer.
If terminals give the thumbs down to HBL, they will effectively kill it. This is probably a good thing from the point of view of tanker market balance, but it makes a mockery of the process of crafting internationally acceptable maritime regulations.
SHIP GENERATED NOISE: THE NEXT REGULATORY TARGET
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is one of the most respected environmental protection lobbying groups. When it brings out a serious study, it deserves serious attention. It has just published "Sounding the Depths: Supertankers, Sonar, and the Rise of Undersea Noise." It points to a growing ambient noise level underwater and says there is "general agreement in the scientific community that hearing is probably the primary sense of whales, dolphins, and other marine species...Most marine mammals depend on sound as they hunt for food, detect predators, find mates, and keep their herds together in the darkness of the sea. For the great whales and others, much of this activity takes place in the low frequencies, in the band below 1000 Hertz. Unfortunately, that part of the spectrum is also occupied by some of the loudest human sources of sound."
Sources of that sound include such things as offshore seismic survey activity and ships' propellers.
NRDC is looking for remedies to the problem, including strengthening of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act and action within IMO. Clearly, this is going to become an issue of increasing importance.
Maritime legislation, regulation and policy is an area that all of us in this industry have to be concerned about. That's why Marine Log devotes an entire two-day conference to it. We hope you'll take part.
Meanwhile, if the actions of the Port of Oakland or Saudi Aramco disturb you, if you have thoughts on how to attenuate noise from ships' propellers--or if you have any other comments, let's have your opinion