The Helsinki Commission plans to address the International Maritime Organization (IMO) with a proposal to introduce an addendum to MARPOL Convention to limit waste discharge from passenger vessels in the Baltic Sea, PortNews IAA reporter cites Mr. Jorma Kämäräinen, coordinator of HELCOM Expert Group, as saying at the HELCOM seminar held in St. Petersburg on November 21.
The proposed addendum approved yesterday at the HELCOM meeting in St. Petersburg recommends that the Baltic Sea be given a status of a special zone regulated by the following rules: passenger vessels are to either decrease the content of pollutants in waste to the norm level (less than 10 mg/liter of nitrogen and less than 0.5 mg/liter of phosphor) or not to discharge it to the sea. The proposal will be furnished to IMO for consideration at the 59th session of IMO commission on environment protection in July 2009.
Marpol is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978. Marpol 73/78 is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions. It was designed to minimize pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust pollution. Its stated object is: to preserve the marine environment through the complete elimination of pollution by oil and other harmful substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of such substances.