- The Parliament of Finland has approved a bill that prohibits the discharge of wastewater from cargo vessels into the Baltic Sea within the country’s territorial waters.
- The new law, passed in early December 2024, will enter into force in July 2025.
- With this move, Finland has become a pioneer in curbing ship emissions while work continues on a ban on ship wastewater discharges covering the entire Baltic Sea.
The Finnish Parliament has approved a law prohibiting cargo ships from discharging wastewater into the country’s coastal waters.
As reported, the new law, which will come into effect in July, will make Finland the first country in the world to impose such comprehensive wastewater regulations.
While passenger ships have long been prohibited from this practice, cargo vessels will now be subject to the same rules.
“This is a huge achievement. Major environmental victories are rare, but this decision is truly world-class. No other country has enacted such ambitious laws,” said Ville Wahlberg, CEO, Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG).
Mitigation measures
Currently, 20 percent of cargo ships operating in the Baltic offload their sewage at port facilities rather than discharging it at sea. Over the past five years, the volume of shipborne wastewater collected at ports has tripled. According to Vesa Marttinen, Head of Cargo Business at the Port of Helsinki, Finland’s infrastructure is well-prepared for this shift.
“We’ve had facilities in place for years, handling wastewater from passenger ferries and some cargo vessels. Now, we’ll work with the remaining ships to ensure they’re equipped and their procedures refined,” Marttinen explained.
Ship sewage discharged into the Baltic Sea contains large amounts of faecal bacteria and solid waste. Moreover, it is nutrient-rich, exacerbating eutrophication and causing toxic algal blooms in the summer months, such as cyanobacteria.
These discharges, though smaller in scale than pollution from agriculture and forestry, are particularly harmful in the Baltic due to the sea’s shallow depth and limited water exchange.
Responsibility now on companies
While the law is a milestone, it does not eliminate all risks. Ships can still legally discharge wastewater in international waters, outside Finland’s jurisdiction. Wahlberg said he believes the responsibility now lies with shipping companies and freight clients to uphold higher standards.
“I trust shipping lines and cargo owners will insist on offloading waste at ports. This law provides a strong foundation, and I’m optimistic we’ll see a significant increase in wastewater collected at Finnish ports,” he said.
If other Baltic Sea countries were to adopt similar legislation, international waters in the region could also fall under stricter regulations. Collaboration among Baltic ports is already strong, and there is growing interest in Sweden and Denmark to introduce comparable rules for grey water, or water used for washing.
“This law sets a precedent for how such measures can be integrated into national legislation,” Wahlberg noted. “It’s a great opportunity to expand this approach to other Baltic countries,” he said. “We have a solid example to build on, but achieving widespread adoption will take years.”
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Source: YLE