Today the Baltic Sea is considered one of the most polluted seas in the world. The severe and interwoven problems affecting the Baltic include eutrophication, the dumping of hazardous substances, the risks created by maritime traffic, and the loss of biodiversity, reports Splash247.
The Baltic Sea Action Group
Leading the charge to reduce these problems is an environmental foundation, the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG). It has joined forces with a range of other partners to raise awareness in the shipping sector about eutrophication and its ecological impacts and how it can be significantly reduced during this decade. A survey conducted by BSAG in 2020 highlighted the impacts of legal discharges of grey water, food waste and treated black waters from cargo vessels and passenger ships.
Now BSAG and members of the Finnish maritime cluster are raising awareness among cargo vessel operators about the special conditions in the Baltic Sea. Currently there is a no special fee payment system at Baltic ports, where a waste fee is charged regardless of whether the ship leaves waste at the port or not.
The Baltic Sea Waste Fee Info, initiated by BSAG and partners, provides ships with information on the ease of discharging waste at ports.
BSAG is marketing this information package through the Responsible Shipping project. Other partners distributing information include the Finnish Port Association, the Finnish Shipowners’ Association, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland.
