Ships’ black and grey water
Ships’ sewage regulations reflected the maritime community’s aspiration from day one. After half a century, we have the good, the bad, the hopeless, and the unknowns.
The Good. Alaska’s effective permitting regime for large cruise ships is made possible by monthly sampling, greywater regulation, effective enforcement, and a greater resource and skill level on cruises. However, the advanced wastewater treatment systems (AWTS) proven on large cruises may not be viable on other 99% of the ships.
The Bad (and the Less Bad). The other marine sewage regulations do not enforce compliant discharges. Without effective enforcement, STPs/MSDs of good technological principles cannot afford the attentions needed to perform. There are now expectations to turn the Bad into the Less Bad on existing ships. Technical and regulatory know-how is needed to turn expectations into reality.
The Hopeless. Science-defying STPs and non-conformity STPs have been type-approved. They are beyond the help of the operators. They have been left unacknowledged and uncorrected, ready to defeat new rules having type approval at the core. They are also popular on the market. How to tell if an STP is, or isn’t, one of them?
The Unknowns. The Bad and the Hopeless triggered the revisions of MARPOL Annex IV in 2017. Let's hope this work will learn lessons from the Good, the Bad, and the Hopeless so that the new rules will bring compliant discharges to the ships with a good degree of confidence.
The links below aim to raise awareness, share knowledge, and stimulate discussions.
1. Type-approved magic boxes https://lnkd.in/efXn-Wex and the huge gap between the rules and realities https://lnkd.in/e-M5fb7K
2. Alaska – the silver lining https://lnkd.in/dRbm7cfX
3. Grey water needs to be regulated https://lnkd.in/eFffzQTn
4. The revisions of MARPOL Annex IV
5. Local rules https://lnkd.in/epcAPH5y
6. What happens outside 12 nm – https://lnkd.in/ei4KQT99
7. Effective rules on land - EU UWWTD https://lnkd.in/eey2fXXH;
8. Discharge standards and analysis
- microplastics (UK labs for microplastics https://lnkd.in/eMwS_jNF)
9. Technologies and interfaces
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EN Decision page: https://lnkd.in/eb4g5w-M
Pipeline operator at Michels Corporation
1moAmazing strides keep up the good work