News - 2017

A key international measure for environmental protection that aims to stop the spread of potentially invasive aquatic species in ships’ ballast water enters into force today (8 September 2017).

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) requires ships to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments.

In response to an article that ran in the daily newspaper Le Journal de Montréal on September 6, 2017 about the development of a methane port project in the Saguenay and its impact on the beluga, the Maritime Information Bureau (MIB) would like to rectify the following information:

1. Fact sheet issued by federal authorities vs. formal notice from Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Contrary to what is indicated in the article, the document from Fisheries and Oceans Canada is not a formal DFO notice on GNL Québec’s Énergie Saguenay project, but a “fact sheet issued by federal authorities.” This type of fact sheet is actually a form the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEEA) distributes to the different federal government departments concerned after a promoter tables a project description. On this fact sheet, the federal government departments can indicate the expertise they have to eventually perform an environmental assessment of the project and to raise its potential and anticipated adverse effects. This work precedes the environmental impact study and is not at all an exhaustive analysis or assessment of a project or its environmental impacts.

In response to an article that ran in the daily newspaper Le Quotidien on August 16, 2017, the Maritime Information Bureau (MIB) would like to point out that virtually all aspects of the shipping industry are highly regulated, as shown below (ref).

1. International regulations

The very nature of shipping, which is central to global trade, requires regulation at the international level. International maritime regulations are developed by specialized United Nations agencies, such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO currently has 172 member states and the conventions (about 30) it has developed since its creation address various aspects, including international shipping safety and security and the prevention of pollution from ships. According to the IMO, “[…] many Conventions now apply to more than 98% of world merchant shipping tonnage (ref).”

Green Marine is marking its 10th anniversary as North America’s environmental certification program for the maritime industry by holding its annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six until tomorrow. GreenTech 2017 opened this morning with the release of the 2016 environmental performance results of Green Marine’s more than 100 participants and a good news story to share.

Green Marine’s participants obtained an overall average of 3.1 on a 1-to-5 scale that has Level 1 requiring the monitoring of regulations and Level 5 reflecting excellence and leadership. The overall average of the participants for all performance indicators has remained quite steady over the past few years even though new indicators have been introduced and the criteria for existing indicators have been made significantly more demanding in several cases.

In response to an article that ran in the daily newspaper Le Devoir on March 18, 2017, the Marine Information Bureau (MIB) would like to clarify a few things regarding ballast water management measures applicable to vessels navigating in Canada.

Ballast water – What is it?

Ballast water is essential for the safe operation of merchant ships, allowing them to navigate at the proper depth and ensuring their stability. Ballasting is necessary when a vessel carries heavy cargo in one hold and a lighter load in another, when it is travelling empty or when the sea is rough.

When ballast waters are discharged, non-indigenous, potentially invasive, aquatic species may be introduced. However, international and Canadian regulations have been in effect for a number of years now (2004 and 2006 respectively) to address this problem.

Quebec City, Wednesday, January 25, 2017 – Green Marine is broadening the scope of its North American environmental certification program by adding two performance indicators dealing with underwater noise emanating from ships and port activities respectively, with the goal of reducing the impact on marine mammals.

With more and more ships navigating in polar waters, IMO has moved to address international concern about the protection of the polar environment and the safety of seafarers and passengers with the introduction of new regulations that all ships operating in these harsh and challenging waters must comply with.

The mandatory Polar Code, for ships operating in Arctic and Antarctic waters, enters into force on 1 January 2017, marking a historic milestone in the work of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to address this key issue. Its requirements, which were specifically tailored for the polar environments, go above and beyond those of existing IMO conventions such as MARPOL and SOLAS, which are applicable globally and will still apply to shipping in polar waters.