Looking after the youngest of our seas

Freight transport is important for Finland, as nearly 90 per cent of Finland's exports and almost 80 per cent of imports travel by sea. But the Baltic Sea is more than just a fairway. It has a unique ecosystem with low salinity, and only the species adapted to it can survive there. A diverse species population helps species adapt to the changing conditions in their environment. However, the Baltic Sea is the youngest sea in the world and also in the poorest condition.

Common concern for the Baltic Sea

Finland is a candidate for membership in the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). One of Finland's key themes in the election is promoting sustainable shipping.

IMO drafts international regulations for the maritime sector to prevent marine pollution. The MARPOL Convention, for example, regulates hazardous substances, air emissions, oil discharges and marine litter.

IMO defines the Baltic Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, which is subject to stricter emission limits than other marine areas. The limits apply to oil and sewage discharges and air emissions, for example.

The Baltic Sea area is also governed by the Helsinki Convention, which was signed by the coastal countries in 1974 and contains detailed recommendations. The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, also known as the Helsinki Commission or HELCOM, is responsible for the implementation of the Convention. HELCOM’s members include the Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union.

The Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) is a non-profit foundation whose objective is to study and improve the condition of the Baltic Sea. The foundation focuses on agriculture, maritime transport and marine biodiversity. BSAG finances its operations with project funding, grants and donations.

“Our aim is to bring different parties to the same table.”

“The cooperation between the private and public sectors works very well in Finland, but some companies in particular need someone from the outside to advise them,” explains Mia Hytti, Project Manager at BSAG.

BSAG's principle is to look for solutions together, without blaming any of the parties involved. The foundation actively collects data, which provides decision-makers with research evidence. BSAG also produces educational materials for maritime educational institutions. These are all means to promote environmental thinking and to protect the Baltic Sea at an early stage.

Waste volumes of a small town

As ships do not have any obligation to report their waste waters, no exact data on waste water volumes are available. There are around 2,000 ships sailing the Baltic Sea at any given moment, and on them around 25,000 crew members, as estimated by BSAG.

“If a town of this size was allowed to discharge its waste water into the sea, it would cause an outrage,” Hytti says.

Separate rules apply to treated and untreated waste water in terms of how far from the shore they may be discharged. Only cargo ships are allowed to discharge untreated sewage into the sea because of its relatively low volumes. The same does not apply to big passenger ships, which are carrying a large number of passengers. All ships can discharge grey water, which is water from sinks and showers and does not contain as many harmful nutrients as sewage.

Ports must accept sewage from ships without charging an additional fee. The Directive (EU) 2019/883 on vessel waste requires that the Member States have the so-called no-special fee system in place. Under the scheme, a ship has to pay the same waste management fee regardless of whether it disposes of its waste in ports or not.

“The system is based on HELCOM's recommendation, which many Baltic Sea countries observed voluntarily for years. Finland has also followed the no-special fee system for a long time, since the beginning of the century in the case of oily waste,” says Laura Sarlin, Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

According to a report by BSAG, one in three cargo ships visiting Finnish ports did not know that delivering sewage to a port was included in the port dues they are already paying. By raising awareness, more ships could be encouraged to unload their waste waters in ports instead of having to discharge them into the sea during their voyage. BSAG works to spread information about this matter. It has, for example, reached out to shipping agents so that they could advise ships arriving from outside the EU.

Mia Hytti understands that in some situations it is not possible for ships to act according to their own principles.

“The sewage tank of a small ship can fill during a long sea voyage, forcing the ship to discharge its sewage into the sea. New vessel construction takes this into account.”

According to BSAG, there is need to examine ways to prohibit the discharge of all ship-generated waste in Finland's territorial waters. The foundation also wants to promote similar legislative projects in other Baltic Sea countries. The legislation in Sweden is already very similar to the Finnish legislation. The foundation is happy to share its data with others. In this way, other countries do not have to develop their own practices or conduct their own research.

“Voluntary measures are of course a way to move forward, but there will always be those who do everything that the law permits. This is why we need a major shift in attitudes.”

A new generation of environmental thinkers

The fuels used in maritime transport are becoming increasingly environmentally friendly. Ships have been using crude oil for a long time, but now there are more options on the market. Development, however, has been sluggish.

“Various parties in Finland are actively involved in the development of fuels. We’ll see the actual impacts when ships start using the new fuels.”

In terms of both fuels and digitalisation, things are on the right track, says Hytti. To give some examples, digitalisation makes it possible to use weather forecasts automatically in route planning. With the help of electronic services, shipping companies can find out in advance whether there are free berths in the port. If a ship can report its arrival virtually, it does not need to race the other ships to the port. This saves fuel and reduces emissions.

Hytti understands the financial pressure shipping companies are under. The threshold for trying out alternative fuels may be high, for example due to the limited availability of raw materials. A Finnish shipping company, Meriaura, is going against the tide and produces its own fuel. The company collects used cooking oil from restaurants and converts it into fuel.

Trained as a sea captain, Hytti worked at sea for about ten years. Later, she studied geography and worked at the University of Turku. Hytti also has work experience from shipyards and shipping companies.

“I had an environmental awakening at the sea.”

“At the end of the 1990s, people thought the sea was like a big storage space where you could keep all the litter and wash water. I felt that a small attitude change could fix many things.”

“Today, the situation is significantly better. Port reception facilities have developed enormously. Ship employees sort their waste and are careful that things that don’t belong in the sea won't end up in there. This new generation of seafarers has adopted a different attitude to the environment. Shipping companies are also aware of their responsibilities and acknowledge the potential reputational damage, which means that crew members monitor and control the activities onboard more closely,” Hytti says.

Interviewees: Mia Hytti , Laura Sarlin

Writers: Hannele Amonoo , Terhi Lintumaa