Cargo ships transport
about 90 percent of the world’s consumer goods. At any given time, 5 to 6
million shipping containers are crossing the oceans, each stuffed with a
variety of items. Many of these items are, at least partly, made of plastic or
wrapped in plastic packaging. Unfortunately, data from The World Shipping
Council shows that the shipping industry loses 10,000 containers a year at sea.
Typically, spilled goods
(with the exception of oil) are not cleaned up. In fact, there is no
international rule that says who is responsible for claiming or cleaning up
consumer goods lost at sea by cargo carriers. Unfortunately, plastics are the
number-one type of trash found in the sea. According to the Ocean Conservancy,
a nonprofit that organizes an annual coastal cleanup event in more than 150
countries around the world, plastic debris makes up around 85 percent of all
the trash collected from beaches, waterways, and oceans. Plastic trash is not
just unsightly, it is also dangerous. Plastic debris that floats in seawater
absorbs dangerous pollutants like PCBs, DDT, and PAH. These highly toxic
chemicals have a wide range of chronic effects, including endocrine disruption
and cancer-causing mutations. Many scientists fear that these chemicals could
cause poisoning, infertility, and genetic disruption in marine life, and even potentially
in humans.
Though the shipping
industry is not solely responsible for the plastic pollution issue, it has
played a part in it. Recently, the International Maritime Organization has
adopted a new plan to crack down on plastic pollution and other litter escaping
from ships into the oceans. The new action plan aims to improve current
regulations and create new measures to reduce marine plastic litter that is
generated by ships. It has identified a number of measures that will help achieve
this goal, including:
- A planned study on marine plastic litter from ships
- Exploration of port reception facility availability and adequacy
- Encouraging the reporting of fishing gear loss
In addition, the plan
also aims to strengthen international cooperation, particularly the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN Environment, and increase public
awareness.
In a recent statement,
the IMO said, “The Action Plan notes that marine plastic litter enters the
marine environment as a result of a wide range of land and sea-based activities…Marine
plastic litter negatively impacts activities such as tourism, fisheries and
shipping…IMO’s London Convention and Protocol
is designed to only allow the dumping of permitted materials, including the
ones generated from dredging.”
Currently,
the existing regulation from the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) prohibits
dumping plastics into the sea. It also mandates governments to guarantee the
availability of adequate port reception facilities to receive ship waste. In
addition, IMO’s London Convention and Protocol is designed to only allow the
dumping of permitted materials. However, these materials are still required to
be evaluated before dumping. This ensures harmful materials, like plastics, are
not released into the sea.
Though this new plan is
expected to offer beneficial results, IMO is expected to regularly review and update
the new action plan, if necessary.
