Port of Tallinn, together with CLIA (Cruise Line International Association), organised an environmental seminar on 23rd of May 2016 on board the cruise ship AIDAmar. The main focus was on waste and wastewater management for cruise ships, says the port’s press center.
The wastewater regulations for ships will become stricter, and from 2021 cruise ships have two options: either to discharge their wastewater in the harbour or to install wastewater treatment equipment on the vessels.
As the Baltic Sea region is a special sensitive area, most of the cruise lines have already confirmed that they do not discharge untreated wastewater into the Baltic Sea. According to CLIA representative Bud Darr, CLIA’s policy promotes careful waste water handling and avoiding the pollution of the sea. ”It is important not only for the destinations and environmental organizations, but also to our guests as they have very close look on how do we treat the waste and wastewater,” said Bud Darr.
In addition to the seminar, the programme also included a behind–the-scenes tour on board the cruise ship to see the wastewater treatment procedures and facilities, how water is purified and discharged into to the wastewater system in Tallinn Old City harbour. Port of Tallinn representatives introduced the waste handling facilities of the harbour the participants and announced that this year Port of Tallinn is investing almost 2 mln euros into connecting the Old City Harbour’s sewage pipeline with the city’s wastewater network in order to increase the capacity of wastewater reception from ships from 100m3 to 1000m3 per hour.
Officials and decision-makers from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment were also invited to the seminar, as well as representatives from other environmental authorities, NGOs and also the press.
Every year, cruise ships make approximately 300 calls to Tallinn Old City Harbour, and bring up to 500 thousand cruise passengers to the city.