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The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) has released the 2009 Clean Seas Guide for mariners plying the waters of the Baltic Sea. Its aim is to provide ship masters with basic information on the pollution prevention regulations which have been established in the region by HELCOM.

To protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea area from pollution, every ship entering the area has been urged to comply with the HELCOM anti-pollution regulations. This applies to all ships, irrespective of whether or not they are flying the flag of a HELCOM Member State.

In accordance with the IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78), under which the Baltic Sea area has been designated as a special area due to its extreme sensitivity to harmful substances, far-reaching prohibitions and restrictions on any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures and garbage have been introduced by the Baltic Sea States.

“The discharge regulations must be strictly observed owing to the vulnerable marine environment of the Baltic Sea area and in order to keep the shorelines and beaches clean,” said Monika Stankiewicz, Professional Secretary on maritime and response issues at HELCOM.

“The responsibility for avoiding discharges of oil or other harmful substances rests not only with the master and his crew but also with the charterer, the ship-owner and the ports.”

The Baltic Sea has been designated as a sulphur oxide (SOx) emission control area (SECA) which requires that all ships navigating in its waters use fuel oil with a sulphur content not exceeding 1.5% m/m or an exhaust gas cleaning system/any other technical method reducing the total emissions of sulphur oxides from ships ensuring the same level of efficiency.

A bunker delivery note accompanied by a representative sample of the delivered fuel oil should be kept on board the ship for inspection and according to Annex VI “Regulations for Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships” to MARPOL 73/78.

The Baltic Sea States place high priority on the elimination of violations of anti-pollution regulations, and on the conviction of any offenders. Various actions have been taken to this end. In order to prevent and detect any violation of discharge regulations, the Baltic Sea States regularly conduct aerial surveillance supported by satellite observations of their response regions and jointly survey specific parts of the Baltic Sea area. The HELCOM Member States are co-operating to investigate violations of anti-pollution regulations and fine polluters.

In addition to the pollution prevention measures, the coastal countries have agreed on certain safety of navigation measures in the Baltic Sea area, like ship traffic monitoring using the Automatic Identification System, ship routing systems, including numerous traffic separation schemes and deep water routes, ship reporting, pilotage, measures related to safety of winter navigation.

To view the brochure, please click here: Clean Seas Guide 2009