ship recycling conversation is environmentally friendly

Discuss.

Ship recycling has gained attention due to a number of factors. Some of such
significant factors include,

Environmental concerns: The process of ship recycling can pose a risk to

the environment, such as releasing hazardous substances, toxic materials,
and pollutants into the sea.

The regulation of ship recycling is governed by the International Maritime

Organization (IMO) through the Hong Kong International Convention for the
Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009. The main aim of
the convention is to ensure that ships, when being recycled, do not pose any
unnecessary risks to human health, safety, or the environment. The
convention requires ships to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, known
as the "Ship Recycling Plan", and to recycle them at facilities that meet
specific environmental and social standards.

A ship recycling facility is a place where end-of-life ships are broken down and
processed for the recovery of materials mainly steel. This process involves
removing hazardous materials, such as asbestos and chemicals, and
dismantling the ship into smaller pieces for recycling or disposal. The ship is
prepared for recycling, including the removal of fuel, oil, and hazardous
materials. The ship is cut into smaller pieces using specialized equipment and
methods. The metal, non-metallic, and hazardous materials are separated for
processing and disposal. Recovered materials are sorted and processed for
reuse or disposal. Metals are sent for recycling, while hazardous materials are
managed safely and responsibly. Any remaining waste or debris is removed,
and the site is restored to its original condition. The goal of the ship recycling
process is to ensure that the recycling is carried out safely, efficiently, and in
an environmentally responsible manner, in compliance with international
regulations such as the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and
Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.

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Dry dock Method of recycling and its significance on environment

The Dry-dock Method of ship recycling is a process where ships are brought
to dry-dock for decommissioning and scrapping. The ship is placed in a large
basin, which is then drained of water so that the ship is exposed on land.
Workers then systematically remove the usable parts, equipment, and
materials from the ship, followed by cutting and demolition of the remaining
hull. This method is considered safer and more environmentally friendly
compared to other methods of shipbreaking as it reduces the risks of
accidents and pollution.

Improved Environment - The Dry-dock method reduces the impact on the

environment, as it does not release pollutants into the sea or air. The process
also helps to minimize the spread of hazardous waste, such as oil and
chemicals, which can harm marine life and the environment.

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Antifouling convention

Marine fouling is the settlement and growth of a variety of marine organisms, such as
bacteria, diatoms, protozoa and algae spores on structures immersed in seawater, such
as ship’s hulls, navigation buoys, and sonar equipment. Anti-fouling refers to material or
systems used to prevent the accumulation of biological material on submerged
surfaces.

Bio-fouling results in higher fuel consumption and can also facilitate the transport of
harmful Non-Indigenous Species (NIS). Antifouling technologies incorporating biocides
(e.g., Tributyltin) have been developed to prevent fouling. Their widespread use,
however, raised concerns about their toxic effects on marine communities.

The International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems in Ships

(AFS Convention) is a 2001 International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaty, whereby
states agree to ban the use of harmful anti-fouling paints and other anti-fouling systems
that contain harmful substances. Particularly, the use of the organotin Tributyltin is
prohibited, since leaching of that chemical from the hulls of ships has been shown to
cause deleterious effects on some sea creatures.

Although the AFS Convention has entered into force, its full implementation has not yet
been appropriately achieved. Most of the ratifying States have delegated the
Classification Society to inspect their ships to ensure the implementation of the
provisions of the Convention. Since painting ships takes place in dry docks, the full
control falls in the hands of Classification Societies

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Plain language summary
This Convention deals with the prevention of use of anti-fouling paints
and systems on the hulls of vessels.
Anti-fouling refers to the growth on the hull of vessels.
Previously, tin was added in various forms to the compounds used on
the hulls but it was found that these compounds were toxic to the
marine ecosystems. Subsequently, these substances were banned,
and the Convention is now in place to ensure that anti-fouling paints
and systems that are used to prevent biofouling on the hulls of vessels
are not toxic to the marine environment.
The Convention requires vessels to carry a certificate and a log book
to demonstrate that their anti-fouling system does not contain
prohibited substances.
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The Ballast Water Management Convention or BWM Convention (full name International Convention for the Control
and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004) is a treaty adopted by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) in order to help prevent the spread of potentially harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in
ships' ballast water.

From 8 September 2017, ships must manage their ballast water so that aquatic organisms and pathogens are
removed or rendered harmless before the ballast water is released into a new location. This will help prevent the
spread of invasive species as well as potentially harmful pathogens.

IMO is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for developing global standards for ship safety and
security and for the protection of the marine environment and the atmosphere from any harmful impacts of shipping.

BWM convention requirements

Ships are required to have on board and implement an approved Ballast Water
Management Plan.

Ships must maintain a Ballast Water Record Book to record when ballast water is
taken on board, circulated or treated for Ballast Water Management purposes
and discharged into the sea. It should also record accidental or other exceptional
discharges of ballast water.
The BWM Convention includes two performance standards for the discharge of
ballast water: D1 and D2.

The D1 standard concerns ballast water exchange, which must be undertaken

within open ocean areas, >200nm from land and in seas >200m deep.

The D2 standard covers approved ballast water treatment systems.

Timeline of the Convention requirements

The requirements of the BWM Convention will come into force at different times,
depending on a ship’s date of construction and IOPP certificate renewal survey.

All new build ships must meet the D2 (treatment) standard after entry into force
(8 September 2017).

For existing ships, the BWM Convention requires that either the D1 (exchange)
or D2 (treatment) standard is met after entry into force (8 September 2017).
However, as ballast water exchange (D1) is not considered an ideal method of
ballast water management, the BWM Convention requires compliance with D2
(treatment) upon a ship’s first International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP)
Certificate renewal survey after 8 September, 2017.

The Convention allows for certain vessels meeting specific conditions to be

exempt from the BWM standards. However, gaining such an exemption is
expected to be a high risk process.

What is Oil Spill?

According to the data of Marine Insights, the production has been increased from
petroleum products from 500 mn tons to 2500 mn tons from 1950 to mid-1990s which
leads to huge transportation as well as oil spills. This also led to an increase in the size
of oil tankers and the ageing of these tankers with time as well. Though the number of
oil spills per decade has decreased, it has been estimated that around 706 mn gallons
of oil leaked into the oceans. In this article, we will be discussing these oil leaks only.
We will learn what is oil spill, oil water pollution, causes, effects, and all the related
aspects.
Introduction

Oil is an important source of energy in the world. It is transferred from one place to
another by the ships in the sea and through the pipes. Due to some kinds of problems,
the pipes leaked and the oil spread in the oceans. This is called an oil spill. The release
of petroleum in the marine ecosystem is pollution. It occurs in the oceans but also
spreads to nearby lands. This happens because of several reasons like transferring oil
to other containers, breaking pipelines through which oil is transported from one place
to another and at the time of drilling in the earth's crust. Oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons
and it causes harm to the surrounding environment. It can destroy animals and
plants. The catastrophic and massive spills are highly considered as their damage to
the environment is high in quantity. But the smaller and chronic oil spills occur on a
normal basis. For millions of years, under high pressure and temperature, the remains
of fossils changed into hydrocarbons which are called petroleum. It is also known as
crude oil. It is composed of gas, kerosene and light gas which can cause hazardous
effects on ecosystems. If it is consumed by any other species of the ocean then it will
cause high damage to them. The production of oil rose in the millions. Due to massive
transportation, it results in oil spills. A large number of waste oils are entered into the
ocean which comes from the land and the other waste disposal. It can cause a great
impact on the health of the people who consume seafood. Strict measurements will be
taken in this regard. So that it can't cause an impact on the environment.

Oil Spill Definition

Some of the definitions of the oil spill are mentioned below:"Oil spill is a release of oil
into the environment, either leaked or discharged from a ship, lorry, truck etc." or " an
accidental release of oil into a body of water, as from a tanker, offshore drilling rig, or
underwater pipeline, often presenting a hazard to marine life and the environment.

Oil spill is an accident in which oil has come out of a ship and caused pollution.

Causes of Oil Spills

There are some causes from which oil spills occurred, a few of which are:

It happens on the land or sea because of the leaks from ships, wells, pipelines and
other carriers of the oil

.It can be caused by some accidents which include tankers, refineries and drilling rigs

.It can be caused by the storage facilities

.Due to the production in millions, it will result in massive transportation and oil spills
.Spills can be caused by the people who make mistakes and sometimes they become
careless

.It happens because of the breaking of equipment

.It can also happen because of disasters

.It can also occur because of the people who do illegal work.

Effects of Oil Spills

Oil spills are damaging in a variety of ways. There are some effects of oil spills which
are:

When oil spills occur in the ocean, the oil does not mix with the water and it spreads on
the surface. Because of the thick layer present in the ocean which is also known as slick
expands because of which the sunlight does not reach the ocean animals and plants.

It affects the food chain of the whole ecosystem.

When oil spills occur, it will break down a moderate amount of oil and deposit on the
bottom.

When oil spreads in the ocean, it breaks and sinks into the ocean which deteriorates the
health of the ocean life.

It contaminates the natural habitat of the ocean.

Oil spills have harsh effects on the coastlines. The birds and the sea mammals are
covered by the oil.

Oil is so damaging to the whole ecosystem as it covers everything which is nearby the
coastlines like sand, animals, grass and soil etcIt destroys everything near the coastline.

The oil that spills into the ocean can have a great impact on people's health who
consume seafood.

It can be damaging for those marine animals who swim in the ocean and if they ingest
oil then it will be destroying them.

How is it Controlled?

Firstly, it should be taken care that no such oil leakage happens for which proper
training should be given to the team as well as proper guidelines should be followed
related to carrying such ships as well as carrying these ships to the ports and passing
through various narrow channels and during staying in the journey at somewhere, etc.
The various methods of controlling the oil leak, if it occurs are mentioned below:

Oil blooms which are also known as containment bloom are the most common method
in case oil spills occur and used to clean up. This equipment helps in further spreading
the oil. It will be useful if this equipment is present locally otherwise oil will spread. It
works where wave velocity is found constant otherwise it becomes difficult for it to clean
up.

When the oil is cleaned up and bounded by the oil blooms then the oil can be skimmed
off with the help of skimmers which are also known as oil scoops. It is the cheapest
method to clean up.

Sorbents are another method that helps in removing the oil. These are liquid absorbers
and for oil leakage, natural sorbents are used such as peat moss, straw & hay. They
help in less wastage as well as less pollution. They are generally most useful for small
spills with high efficiency.

The next most common and most useful method of removing oil spill is burning. The oil
is ignited similar to the rice husk which helps in removing 98% of the oil.

The other method is the usage of dispersants which is considered as the last option i.e.
oil disintegration for which dispersal chemicals are used. This leads to bonded
molecules go deeper into the water where it becomes available for the microbes which
later degrades them.

Measures

There are various methods that can be adopted if oil spills occur but the best solution is
to prevent the occurrence of such oil spills because they cause a lot of problems for
marine life and others. Thus, the following measures can be taken to prevent oil leak:

Oil tankers should not be filled fully but only around 90% of the total capacity should be
filled so that chances of leakages can be reduced.

In boats with inboard engines, the usage of oil absorbent pads on the bilges should be
done so that any kind of leakage can be controlled by absorption.
Necessary checks should be done before filling the oil and recycling as well as repair
should be done of old oil pieces of equipment and filters.

Usage of automatic nozzles should be done in order to reduce the potential of the
overfilling tanks.

Proper guidelines set by the National authorities should be taken care of while filling and
shipping such assignments and necessary check-up of storage sites should be done on
a regular basis.

After using the oil or any old oil equipment as well as oil absorbent should be recycled
properly.

IMO is the United Nations specialized agency charged with developing and adopting global regulations
on the safety, security and efficiency of ships and on the protection of the environment – both marine
and atmospheric – from shipping operations. The Organization’s 170 Member Governments are
responsible for implementing and enforcing those regulations, once they enter into force for the
international merchant fleet of some 100,000 ships (above 100 GT).

Today, however, the pressure is mounting for every potential polluter, every user of energy and every
contributor to environmental degradation, climate change or biodiversity loss to both clean up their act
and adopt greener practices. Shipping is no different and, therefore, IMO’s vision for the industry is to
eliminate, or reduce to the barest minimum, all adverse environmental impacts from ships.

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Emissions from ships

Increasing shipping activities contribute significantly to the air and sea pollution in the
Baltic Sea region.

Emissions of SOx from shipping due to combustion of marine fuels with high sulphur
content contribute to air pollution in the form of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter,
harming the environment through acidification as well as human health, particularly
around coastal areas and ports.
NOx emissions from ships, like SOx emissions, cause acid depositions that can be
detrimental to the natural environment and most importantly contribute to
eutrophication. Shipping (in both Baltic and North Seas) is among the largest
contributors to NOx deposition to the Baltic Sea. According to the recent estimates, the
total NOx emissions from ships in the Baltic were more than 393 kton NOx in 2008.
Within 2000-2006, shipping in the Baltic was the second largest contributor (9%) to the
deposition of nitrogen oxide, and the fifth greatest contributor (5%) to the total nitrogen
deposition to the Baltic Sea.

In addition to SOx and NOx shipping is also contributing to the emissions of greenhouse
gases (mainly CO2), ozone-depleting substances and volatile organic compounds
(VOC), which are mainly generated during tanker loading operations in ports.

Globally air pollution from ships is regulated by Annex VI of IMO's MARPOL 73/78 on
"Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships".

Annex VI of MARPOL 73/78 makes the Baltic a "SOx emission control area",
demanding as of 19 May 2006 all ships either to use fuel oil with sulphur content not
exceeding 1.5% or emission-cleaning systems reaching equivalent standards.
According to the recently revised Annex VI, the sulphur content of any fuel oil used
onboard ships within the Baltic SECA will be further decreased, to 1.0 % m/m during
2010 and to as little as 0.1 % m/m in 2015.

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In 1996, the "London Protocol" was agreed to further modernize the

Convention and, eventually, replace it. Under the Protocol all dumping
is prohibited, except for possibly acceptable wastes on the so-called
"reverse list". The Protocol entered into force on 24 March 2006 and
there are currently 53 Parties to the Protocol.
What are the purpose and objectives of the London Convention and Protocol?

The objective of the London Convention and Protocol is to promote

the effective control of all sources of marine pollution. Contracting
Parties shall take effective measures to prevent pollution of the marine
environment caused by dumping at sea .

The purpose of the London Convention is to control all sources of

marine pollution and prevent pollution of the sea through regulation of
dumping into the sea of waste materials. A so-called "black- and grey-
list" approach is applied for wastes, which can be considered for
disposal at sea according to the hazard they present to the
environment. For the blacklist items dumping is prohibited. Dumping of
the grey-listed materials requires a special permit from a designated
national authority under strict control and provided certain conditions
are met. All other materials or substances can be dumped after a
general permit has been issued.

In 1996, the "London Protocol" was agreed to further modernize the

Convention and, eventually, replace it. Under the Protocol all dumping
is prohibited, except for possibly acceptable wastes on the so-called
"reverse list".

The purpose of the Protocol is similar to that of the Convention, but

the Protocol is more restrictive: application of a "precautionary
approach" is included as a general obligation; a "reverse list"
approach is adopted, which implies that all dumping is prohibited
unless explicitly permitted; incineration of wastes at sea is prohibited;
export of wastes for the purpose of dumping or incineration at sea is
prohibited. Extended compliance procedures and technical assistance
provisions have been included, while a so-called transitional period
allows new Contracting Parties to phase in compliance with the
Protocol over a period of five years, provided certain conditions are
met.