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delivered either via the company’s own handling equip- ment or by special tankers. Other waste disposal com- panies operating in Hamburg also use the plant to dis- pose of collections of ship’s waste.
The process of treating ship’s waste in the plant is truly fascinating. Chemical & physical processes convert the oil/water mixtures in the separating unit into three by-products: High-grade heating oil, water and dry solids. “We sell the oil recovered to local industry or export it. The dry solids are ecologically disposed of in special units, and the purified water is fed into the Elbe,” explains
Disposal of Ship’s Waste
The International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pol- lution by Ships, or MARPOL for short, is the most important body of regulations on environmental protection in deepsea shipping. With only a few exceptions, disposal of ship’s waste of all types at sea is forbidden. In the EU the MARPOL Con- vention is supplemented by Directive 2000/59/EU on Port Re- ception Facilities for Waste from Ships and Cargo Residues. The Directive aims to promote shore-based disposal of waste
Captain Melidis. One serious challenge is that the collect- ed wastes are not always of identical quality, and there- fore need to be handled and treated completely different- ly – a technologically very elaborate process consuming a great deal of energy. “We run extremely strict quality controls. We also cooperate with a renowned, certified external laboratory that conducts the essential chemical analyses to ensure fulfilment of all the criteria laid down by the Ministry of the Environment & Energy, and our customers. The water that results from treatment is so pure that it meets the official requirements for being fed directly into public waters,” explains Captain Melidis. ■
from ships. Appropriate reception facilities are readily availa- ble in the ports. In addition, the Directive obliges ocean-going ships, at latest 24 hours before calling at an EU port, to report via a central system on the type and quantity of ship’s waste and cargo residues to be unloaded and/or remain on board. The port police of coastal states conduct regular inspections of ships. These include checks on the oil, cargo and waste record books prescribed by MARPOL. The ship’s crew must completely document waste disposal and be able to display the corresponding disposal receipts.
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Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2018 | 29
GREEN PORT ■