Sustainable shipping in the Baltic Sea Region

Rasmus Uglebjerg With,
Policy Area Coordinator,
EUSBSR PA Ship,
Denmark

Josefine Eva Lilly Pallesen,
Policy Area Coordinator,
EUSBSR PA Ship,
Denmark

The Baltic Sea is a special place. A sea stretching from the north tip of Denmark to the Gulf of Bothnia, with decreasing water exchange as the Baltic Sea goes towards Poland, Russia and Finland, makes for a unique marine environment. The Baltic Sea has always been rich in natural resources and culture. Today, the Baltic Sea is also a hotbed for trade and tourism.

This is not a new trend, albeit the nature of the trade has changed. Vessels and distance travelled have become larger, leading to more concentrated environmental and climate impacts of shipping. Cruise ships discharging sewage negatively affects marine life due to eutrophication. Further, the exchange of ballast water brought microorganisms from other regions into the Baltic Sea.

These adverse effects on the Baltic Sea are a result of human activity. As such, humans can reverse course and remove the factors that have deteriorated the health and resilience of the Baltic Sea. With concerted efforts by Baltic Sea coastal states and the EU, with support from Flagship projects under the EUSBSR Policy Area on Clean shipping (PA Ship), we can now see a path towards sustainable shipping in the Baltic Sea.

Climate change – short term measures serve a valuable purpose

Shipping is a major emitter of GHG. Studies show that upwards of 3 % of global CO₂ emissions comes from maritime transport. Further, the Fourth IMO GHG study show that emissions from shipping are projected to be 90-130 % of 2008 emissions if no actions are taken. Comparing this to the EU Green Deal, which seeks a 90 % reduction in transport emissions in 2050, or the IMO Initial GHG Strategy of minimum 50 % reduction in 2050 shows, that business as usual is not an option for shipping.

The global shipping community has acknowledged and mostly embraced this, and is working to reduce their GHG emissions. In the Baltic Sea, the PA Ship flagship ECOPRODIGI found, that by utilising existing data, ships can reduce their carbon emissions. The flagship showed that smaller ferries can reduce their bunkers consumption by 10-20 %, whilst larger ships can reduce their bunkers consumption by 2-4 %.

This shows that while we wait for long term solutions being developed for shipping, incl. battery technology and Power-to-X, there are measures to be taken in the short term so that we prevent harmful emissions from building up in the atmosphere.

Land-based power generation in ports serves as a short term measure to reduce carbon emissions. It allows ships, such as e.g. cruise ships, to switch their power supply from a fossil one to renewable energy. This reduces GHG emissions as well as emission of harmful substances in densely populated urban cruise ports. Several Baltic Sea ports have already installed shore power facilities, and more will follow soon. Whilst no panacea, it serves as a valuable tool to reduce emissions in the short term.

Life below water in dire straits

The oceans have saved humanity from the earliest effects of GHG emissions due to their capacity to absorb CO₂. However, oceans are now at capacity and life below water is feeling the effects. But CO₂ is not all that goes into the seas.

Historically, vessels have dumped their sewage into the sea. However, with the onset of large cruise vessels, the issue of dumping sewage became apparent. Introducing massive amounts of Phosphorous and Nitrogen leads to eutrophication. This is especially harmful in a semi-enclosed sea such as the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea coastal states and the EU in cooperation with HELCOM Maritime Group introduced a proposal in 2010 to the IMO to stop vessels from discharging sewage in the Baltic Sea. This ban goes into effect in 2021, although some areas are exempt until 2023. Reducing organic matter in the Baltic Sea will greatly benefit life below water.

Ballast water is an essential safety feature on vessels. However, one side effect of this has been the introduction of new species to our marine environments. As a response, the IMO adopted the Ballast Water Management Convention. Whilst a big step in the right direction, we must ensure that the regulation works. One important piece of work on this topic is the PA Ship flagship project COMPLETE, which is working on a regionally harmonised structure for ships’ ballast water management in the Baltic Sea Region.

All is not well, but road ahead is clear

As outlined, challenges are abound, and most have not been covered here. However, what has also been presented is that by way of multilateral and macro regional cooperation, the challenges are now being addressed.

The Baltic Sea is special – more special than most realise: due to a unique geography, Baltic Sea coastal states have the opportunity to introduce the Baltic Sea as a hotbed for testing new technologies and regulation; by setting the standards high and enforcing the rules. This will allow us to not only save the Baltic Sea, but also put the region on the map as a global leader in sustainable shipping.

Email:
raw@dma.dk
jelp@dma.dk

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