Reception of Ship-Generated Waste

Mandatory delivery of waste

The Swedish Maritime Administration’s regulations and general advice on the prevention of pollution from ships (SJÖFS 2007:15) stipulate that, upon arrival in a Swedish port ships shall deliver all ship-generated waste and all cargo residues that may not be discharged into the sea to a port reception facility. The regulation states what wastes may be discharged and how ships shall be equipped to minimize discharges to an acceptable level. Furthermore, ships may retain sludge on board for delivery at the next port if no more than 25 percent of the sludge tank capacity has been used.

Unfortunately, different regulations apply in different countries regarding mandatory delivery of waste to port reception facilities. There are no regulations regarding how much waste ships arriving from ports outside Europe shall have delivered. Pursuant to Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, the main principle within the European Union is that ship-generated waste that may not be discharged into the sea shall be delivered to a port reception facility at every port call. However, ships may retain the waste on board until the next port of call if they have sufficient capacity in spaces intended for that purpose.

The requirements for delivery of waste to port reception facilities are stricter within the Baltic Sea area than for the rest of the EU: all ship-generated waste that may not be discharged into the sea shall be delivered to a port reception facility at every port call. Minor amounts are however exempted from the requirement. “Minor amounts” refer to sludge in amounts not exceeding 25 percent of the sludge tank capacity and garbage in amounts so small that it would be unreasonable to demand delivery to a port reception facility.

Accordingly, Swedish ports may be required to receive all waste that ships have generated during voyages between ports in other countries.

Ferries and other ships in scheduled traffic may be exempted from mandatory delivery of waste at every port call if the shipowner or shipping company can show that waste is delivered and disposed of in a satisfactory way in a specified port along the ship's route. The Swedish Transport Agency is empowered to grant such exemptions with regard to delivery to reception facilities in Swedish ports. Exempted ships are issued a certificate that may be shown to port authorities and at Port State Control. Swedish ports along the route will be exempted from charging these ships a no-special fee. For further information on the terms and conditions for exemptions, see the Swedish Transport Agency’s “Procedures for Granting Exemptions from Mandatory Delivery of Waste from Ships in Swedish Ports.”

Fees for delivery of ship-generated waste

Swedish ports have the right to recover their costs for reception of ship-generated waste by a general fee, the so called no-special-fee shall be the same for all ships of the same size, type or category. The fee shall be charged whether the ship delivers waste to the port facility or not and may not vary according to the amount of waste the ship delivers. Ports may independently set the amount of the fee, but must show the calculation in the waste management plan, which shall be approved by the Swedish Transport Agency.

To stimulate use of equipment or operations leading to improved waste management procedures or reduced production of waste, ports may grant discounts on waste reception fees to ships that minimize their waste in an acceptable way. Likewise, ports may charge a higher general waste reception fee to ships that do not use permitted equipment or take action to reduce waste production.

For instance, ports may grant discounts to ships that deliver garbage to port reception facilities sorted in the way the ports wish or ports, in order to recover their costs for receiving waste from machinery spaces, may charge a higher general fee to ships that have not used their bilge water separators or have had them removed.

A port has the possibility to recover additional costs incurred because a ship

If the amounts needed to be delivered are abnormal, which may occur if a ship has experienced an engine failure or leakage, and large amounts of oil or oil-contaminated water have leaked on board the ship, or if the delivery of waste that the ship did intend to be delivered to the port is ordered by a ships inspector, the port has the right to full coverage of its costs.

A port does not have the right to request coverage for overtime costs if the ship was unable to deliver waste at another time. In the event that overtime is required, the port should initiate a discussion with the ship concerning a suitable time for the delivery.

As it is the cargo owner’s responsibility to dispose of cargo residues and the cargo owner is not allowed to charge the ship for this, a port which performs this service may request full coverage of its costs.

The European Commission and the Helsinki Commission have both developed rules on how waste reception fees should be constructed. Both assert the general fee principle, but the regulations differ. Thus, the Directive 2000/59/EC states that ships shall “contribute significantly” to the costs of waste reception through a general fee, which shall always be charged, while the Helsinki Convention states that all costs shall be covered with a general fee. The EC Directive states that the “significant contribution” refers to one third of the costs.

It is noteworthy that countries, both within the EU and in the Baltic Sea areas, interpret what wastes should be covered by the general fee in different ways. Several claim that since waste delivery at every port call is mandatory, the general fee applies only to the waste produced during the voyage from the previous port. This interpretation is not open to Swedish ports – they are not allowed to charge more than the established general fee!

The differences in fee systems and as to what wastes fall under the mandatory delivery requirement make it possible and, first and foremost, financially advantageous for ships engaged in international voyages to retain their waste on board until they call at a Swedish port.

Advance notification

All waste to be delivered in public and industry ports shall be notified not later than 24 hours prior to the ship’s arrival at the port or by the latest upon the ship’s departure from the previous port if the voyage lasts less than 24 hours. The Swedish Maritime Administration's Ship Reporting System (FRS) shall be used.

Waste management plans

All Swedish ports and shipyards shall have a written waste management plan. The waste management plans of commercial and industrial ports and ship repair yards for merchant vessels shall be approved by the Swedish Transport Agency. The plan shall be revised every three years or whenever the ship’s need to deliver waste changes.

Reporting

Commercial and industrial ports are required to submit a report on reception of ship-generated waste to the Swedish Transport Agency annually by 31 March. Note that all quantity information must be stated in cubic meters to ensure comparability.

Regulations

The regulations on waste management onboard ships and waste reception in ports are based on the MARPOL Convention, the Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, the 1992 Helsinki Convention and applicable recommendations, the Swedish Act (1980:424) on the prevention of pollution from ships, the Swedish Ordinance (1980:789) on the  prevention of pollution from ships, the Swedish Maritime Administration’s regulations and general advice on the prevention of pollution from ships (SJÖFS 2007:15) and the Swedish Maritime Administration’s regulations and general advice on reception of ship-generated waste (SJÖFS 2001:12).