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MANAGING WASTE
FROM COMMERCIAL SHIPS

#clearfacts #sustainableshipping #shipwaste

Explore the waste a ship produces.

Commercial ships produce waste as part of their regular operations. Proper disposal prevents ship pollution. Accidentally or deliberately discharging waste from a ship can damage ocean habitats, contaminate food chains, or harm marine life.

Ship owners, mariners, regulators, and port authorities work together to dispose of this waste safely. With an increasing focus on the marine environment, Canadians and Indigenous communities want to be sure marine resources are protected from the effects of ship-generated waste.

This site’s purpose is to share objective information about the impacts of operational waste from the marine shipping industry – including the types of waste ships produce, how these wastes can be harmful, and where and how wastes are disposed of – and to encourage informed conversations about these issues.

We used to say when the tide went out, the table was set. Now it’s full of heavy metals and contaminants.


Gabriel George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation commenting on pollutants in Burrard Inlet from land and water-borne sources.[1]

WASTE PRODUCED BY SHIPS AND CREWS

Click on the blue dots to learn more about the waste produced by ships and crews.

More than 55,000⁽²’³⁾ commercial ships sail the world’s oceans and waters annually. As they move from port to port, they generate a range of oily waste, exhaust gas cleaning wash water, ballast water, sewage (black water), greywater, cargo residues, food waste, and other garbage similar to typical household waste.

Learn the difference between:

Waste Produced by Ships

  • Propeller shaft oil
  • Exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) or scrubber discharge water
  • Bilge water
  • Cargo residues and wash water
  • Ballast water
  • Hull coatings and microplastics
  • Anchor wash water

Waste produced by passengers and crew

  • Garbage
  • Food
  • Sewage (black water)
  • Greywater

View a comparison of Canadian, U.S., and international regulations.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SHIP-GENERATED WASTE

Waste from ships is contentious.

If you have seen a ship pumping water overboard or exhaust into the air, you might be concerned about pollution. Read on for some questions and answers about Canada’s ship waste treatment and disposal regulations.

The crew could be washing the anchor chain to prevent marine species from coming along when the ship leaves (and becoming invasive elsewhere), releasing rain or seawater that has collected on deck, or adjusting ballast water levels as the ship takes on or offloads cargo. Ballast water is held in specialized tanks in the ship and allows the ship to maintain a safe bouyancy. International and Canadian regulations require ships coming to Canada to exchange ballast water taken up in a coastal area with water from the open ocean to minimize the risk of invasive species arriving in Canadian ports.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes the territorial sea – the ocean directly under a country’s jurisdiction – as 12 nautical miles from shore. Ships greater than 400 gross tonnes cannot discharge untreated sewage within the territorial sea. Within the territorial sea and in Canada’s inland waters such as the Great Lakes, sewage discharges from ships must be treated using UV light, hypo-chlorination or biologic methods, before discharge. Ships must be travelling at 4 knots or faster when discharging untreated sewage more than 12 nautical miles from shore.⁽¹¹⁾ Sewage is passed through a screen to filter out non-organic waste.

Ships are only permitted to discharge liquid waste if the oil content is not from oil cargo and is less than 15 parts per million (ppm) when undiluted. The oil content must be less than 5 ppm for discharge in inland waters and in all cases, the ship must be underway. Water that collects in the lowest parts of a ship is referred to as bilge water and can accumulate oil and other wastes. Bilge water is pumped out through an oily water separator. The separator sounds an alarm if the waste exceeds 15 ppm of oil, alerting the engine room or the captain. The harmful residue is stored in a holding tank for disposal at an authorized disposal centre. The regulations around waste discharge are different in Arctic waters. See the Learn more about ship waste in Arctic waters pop-up window below for more information.

The standard of 15 ppm is the point where an oil sheen can be seen with the naked eye for immediate confirmation during an inspection. That is also the point that oil kills birds and marine life by breaking down their natural protective insulation. In the Great Lakes and other inland waters, which are important sources of drinking water, this limit is 5 ppm. In Arctic waters, bilge water discharges are prohibited. These standards are selected to protect the environment and enable appropriate action to be taken as quickly as possible.

The marine safety inspectors at Transport Canada who enforce the rules and regulations are experienced mariners. They are selected under Canadian law and undergo specialized training to enforce the entire maritime regime. Owing to the wide range of issues these regulations cover, inspectors need simple ways of determining if a ship is following the rules, such as knowing 15 ppm oil is a visible sheen on the water.

Ships cover long distances between ports and have limited storage space. Furthermore, retaining some types of waste onboard may pose health risk to the ships’ crew. It is contentious, but if a waste meets certain standards set by international agreements to limit harm to the environment, that waste may be permitted to be disposed at sea. The underlying assumption is that the ocean can manage untreated sewage and certain wastes if appropriately disposed of away from shore in small, diluted quantities. However, some wastes, such as plastics and harmful chemicals cannot be discharged at sea at any time.⁽⁴⁾

Port State Control inspectors in Canada and internationally check ship records and on-board equipment to ensure compliance with regulations, and interview crews for familiarity with requirements. Regulators also rely on satellite, aerial, and water-based surveillance to monitor ship behaviour in Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone (within 200 nautical miles from shore). If ships are in violation they can be fined, face sanctions, denied access to member ports, and face crippling increases to their insurance. Citizens, environmental groups and corporations alike are demanding that companies they work with meet a high standard of conduct and follow the law.

SHIP WASTE RULES AND REGULATIONS

Commercial ships sail through national and international waters and are required to observe many different regulations, restrictions, and protected areas.

Some additional restrictions on waste disposal in Canada exist in Marine Protected Areas, National Marine Conservation Areas, and National Wildlife Areas.

Learn more about Special Areas of pollution control

Click here

Internationally, the disposal of waste from ships is governed by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), first established in 1973 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and fully adopted in 1978, with protocols and annexes added and entered into force since to address oil, noxious liquids in bulk, harmful substances in packaged form, sewage, garbage, and air pollution.

Canada joined MARPOL in 1993 and has incorporated most of the Convention’s aspects into the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, under the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations to protect Canadian waters within Canada’s exclusive economic zone up to 200 nautical miles from shore. Under the Fisheries Act, it is illegal to dispose of any deleterious substance into water, regardless of the source of the substance (person or ship), unless carried out in accordance with requirements under another Act of Parliament. A deleterious substance is anything that is likely to cause harm to fish or fish habitat. However, some harmful substances can be disposed of if the concentration is below established water quality standards.

PROTECTED AREAS IN CANADIAN WATERS

Learn more about ship waste in Arctic waters

⬤ Exclusive economic zone (extending 200 nautical miles from the shore)

⬤ Territorial waters (extending 12 nautical miles from the shore)

⬤ Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

⬤ National Marine Conservation Areas

Learn more about protected areas in Canada here.

To download a copy of this map, click here.

MONITORING AND ENFORCING SHIP WASTE DISPOSAL

IMO member states, including Canada, are responsible for incorporating international regulations into national law and enforcing ships’ adherence to those regulations.

Under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, the Marine Transportation Security Act and through the Marine Safety and Security Oversight Program, Transport Canada monitors every ship in Canadian waters through a number of mechanisms, including:

  • Participation in the Tokyo and Paris Memoranda of Understanding – databases of commercial ships maintained and accessed by national marine inspectors to identify ships of concern.
  • Requirement for ships to contact Transport Canada 96 hours before entering Canadian waters to provide details about the ship, its crew and cargo.
  • Regular and random Port State Control inspections conducted by experienced marine safety inspectors to assess the ship’s condition and operations, including logs of any discharges.
  • Surveillance of ship discharges while in Canadian waters through the National Aerial Surveillance Program.

To learn more about the National Aerial Surveillance Program, click here.

REMOVING WASTE FROM SHIPS

Some waste produced on or by ships must be retained to be disposed of on land.

When a ship is in port, private service providers remove waste either using barges or trucks, depending on available space, regulations, and type of waste.

Waste removal services vary from port to port to meet the needs of the ships that call. For example, a port receiving cruise ships requires more capacity to handle food waste and recyclable materials than one receiving only cargo vessels. International food, animal, plant, and other organic waste can only be removed from a ship if the service provider is approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.[12]

Ports that receive international ships offer the full range of waste removal services through local port waste reception facilities. Regional ports offer a selection of waste removal services as required by the ships that call.

INITIATIVES UNDERWAY

The North American voluntary environmental certification program Green Marine assesses the environmental footprint of participants using 14 performance indicators, including one related to waste management. Among others, this indicator aims to reduce operational garbage and increase recycling onboard ships. It includes five levels of performance ship owners, ports, terminals, and shipyards can achieve, from installing recycling bins to conducting a waste audit and developing a waste management strategy.

Learn more

A number of certification programs aimed at encouraging the marine shipping industry to reduce its environmental footprint consider waste produced by ships – and how it’s being managed – as an indicator of environmental performance.

Learn more

To further reduce the environmental risks associated with the introduction of invasive species that can occur through the discharge of ballast water by ships, Canada proposed new, enhanced Ballast Water Regulations. This new set of regulations will give effect to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments and require domestic and international commercial vessels to install a ballast water management system by 2024.

Learn more

Quebec’s Ici on Recycle! – RECYC QUÉBEC recycling program recognizes organizations that are committed to improve their waste management performance through a nomination and certification process. The program, which has been adapted to vessels and their operations in recent years, includes zero-waste initiatives to reduce the use of single-use plastics on board ships.

Learn more

About Clear Seas

Clear Seas Centre for Responsible Marine Shipping is an independent research centre that promotes safe and sustainable marine shipping in Canada.

Clear Seas was established in 2014 after extensive discussions among government, industry, environmental organizations, Indigenous peoples, and coastal communities revealed a need for impartial information about the Canadian marine shipping industry.

Clear Seas received seed funding in 2015 through equal contributions from the Government of Canada (Transport Canada), the Government of Alberta (Alberta Energy), and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Our funders saw the need for an independent organization that would provide objective information on issues related to marine shipping in Canada.

Clear Seas operates as an independent research centre at arm’s length from our funders. Our research agenda is defined internally in response to current issues, reviewed by our research advisory committee, and approved by our board of directors.

Our board of directors is composed of scientists, community leaders, engineers and industry executives with decades of experience investigating human, environmental and economic issues related to our oceans, coastlines and waterways.

Our reports and findings are available to the public at clearseas.org

Sources & Citations

A comparison of Canadian, U.S. and international regulations

International regulations to prevent and minimize pollution from ships came into effect in the early 1970s in response to several major oil spills. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a set of rules under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Since then, it has been expanded to include noxious liquid substances, harmful materials carried in package form, sewage, garbage, and air pollution.

Many of these rules have been incorporated into national regulations and laws. In Canada, most aspects of MARPOL have been adopted under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. In addition, the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code), developed by the IMO, has been incorporated into Canada’s Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act (AWPPA). To compare, some Canadian regulations such as those for sewage discharge are stricter than MARPOL.

While the two countries work together in shared waters, there are some differences between the U.S. and Canada, notably in the Great Lakes region.

In general, Canada and the U.S. try to coordinate actions under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement for joint emergency pollution response and work together on ballast water management in the Great Lakes. However, the two countries are not in agreement for new ballast water rules taking effect in 2024 and requiring vessels of at least 400 gross tonnes to be equipped with a ballast water management system. The U.S., which has not ratified the IMO’s International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments and has exempted its fleet of commercial vessels operating on the Great Lakes from having to install onboard ballast water management systems, believes that this rule should not be applied to ships that only use the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region. Conversely, Canada has ratified the Convention, and says ships must have onboard systems. Both countries are in negotiations to resolve the matter.

When the two nations are parties to the same conventions, they do not necessarily apply the same standards because some conventions provide a minimum requirement and some American states may regulate higher standards or adopt their own standards, as in the case of California regarding ballast water management.

For example, the U.S. is not a signatory to MARPOL IV (regulations on sewage) but they have equivalent laws to protect against pollution from sewage, found in the Section 312 of the Clean Water Act.

  • Section 312 of the Clean Water Act requires the use of operable, U.S. Coast Guard-certified marine sanitation devices onboard vessels that are equipped with toilets and operating on U.S. navigable waters
  • Untreated sewage discharges are prohibited within 3 nautical miles from shore
  • Some areas are designated as “No Discharge Zones”

The U.S. and Canada are signatory to MARPOL V (regulations on garbage). Certain U.S. states such as Alaska and Washington often apply stricter standards.

The role of port authorities in managing ship waste:
Canada’s port authorities play a crucial role in managing ship-source waste. They publish rules and regulations for their jurisdiction describing how all types of ship waste are managed and disposed. Overall, port rules meet and often exceed national regulations. The ship operator must seek the necessary approvals from the appropriate regulator, harbour master or operations centre before discharging waste. The Port of Halifax offers a typical example of a guide and its requirements.

Regulations in Arctic waters

In Arctic waters, bilge water cannot be discharged. For ships greater than 400 gross tonnes or certified to carry more than 15 people, treated sewage may be discharged more than 3 nautical miles or as far as practicable from land, ice-shelf, or land-fast ice while underway. Untreated sewage may be discharged at least 12 nautical miles from land or ice and while underway. There are no specific regulations on the discharge of grey water north of 60°N. Vessel operators are asked to avoid discharging untreated grey water under any circumstance when operating in these waters, but this recommendation is not enforced.

Special Areas of pollution control

A Special Area can be designated under MARPOL to create further measures to prevent ocean pollution by oil, noxious liquid substances, sewage, garbage or air pollution due to the area’s recognized ecological conditions and the nature of traffic in the area. Designated areas are provided with a higher level of protection, for example, the four Emission Control Areas located in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, North America, and the U.S. Caribbean Sea to restrict sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. A list of the Special Areas under MARPOL can be found here.

Ship Waste in Arctic Waters

As Arctic shipping increases, so do the risks associated with ship-source waste. Waste generated and transported onboard ships navigating Arctic waters poses risks to the region’s marine and coastal environments due to its limited port infrastructure and reliance on the Arctic Ocean as a food source by the Inuit and other Indigenous inhabitants.

As a form of marine litter, plastics have direct effects within the Arctic ecosystem. Some plastics and microplastics accumulate on the ice and re-release into the ocean upon melt, leaching toxins.

The Arctic Shipping Safety and Pollution Prevention Regulations, which incorporate the Polar Code into Canada’s regulatory framework, prohibit the discharge of waste of any type in Arctic waters, with the exception of sewage and food waste, under certain conditions. Waste means any substance, including water containing such substance, that, if discharged in the marine environment, would degrade the water quality to be harmful to people, animals, fish, and plants useful to people, and further includes anything deemed to be waste under the Canada Water Act.

The discharge of oil or mixtures that contain oil is also strictly prohibited with few exceptions, notably if the discharge is the result of an accident or damage to the ship while reasonable precautions were taken, and if the discharge is necessary to save lives or prevent the loss of the ship.

Depositing waste in Arctic waters is considered an offence. A person or a ship convicted under the AWPPA may be fined $5,000 or $100,000, respectively. For ships greater than 400 gross tonnes or certified to carry more than 15 people, the Arctic Shipping Safety and Pollution Prevention Regulations allow the discharge of treated (disinfected and ground-up) sewage more than three nautical miles from land, ice-shelf, or land-fast ice while the ship is underway. Any treated sewage discharges must be as far as practicable from land or ice. To discharge untreated sewage, the ship must be underway and at least 12 nautical miles from land or ice.

The National Aerial Surveillance Program

The National Aerial Surveillance Program is run by Transport Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada to patrol Canada’s coastlines for ship-source pollution like oil spills. Distinctive, red-painted Dash-8 aeroplanes and a drone equipped with remote sensing equipment keep watch over Canada’s coastlines. Watch this video to learn more.

If ships are identified as illegally discharging waste, Transport Canada may employ different measures under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. Penalties range from letters of non-compliance and fines of up to $25,000 per day for the duration of the offence. This can mean loss of business, increased rates of insurance and ultimately banning from Canadian waters.

Sources & Citations

  1. Burnaby Now. (2021). Pollution Expert Aims to Create ‘Water Champions.’
  2. Statista. (2021). Number of Ships in the World Merchant Fleet as of January 1, 2020, by Type.
  3. Clear Seas’ work is focused on commercial marine shipping and does not generally include cruise ships or fishing vessels. They are subject to the same regulations governing waste disposal.
  4. International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78). (2015). Practical Guide. P. 19.
  5. Government of Canada. (2012). Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemical Regulations.
  6. Marine Insights. (2021). MARPOL Annex 1 Explained: How to Prevent Pollution from Oil at Sea.
  7. Barbara Werschkun, Sangeeta Banerji, Oihane C. Basurko, Matej David, Frank Fuhr, Stephan Gollasch, Tamara Grummt, Michael Haarich, Awadhesh N. Jha, Stefan Kacan, Anja Kehrer, Jan Linders, Ehsan Mesbahi, Dandu Pughiuc, Susan D. Richardson, Beatrice Schwarz-Schulz, Amisha Shah, Norbert Theobald, Urs von Gunten, Stefanie Wieck, Thomas Höfer. (2014). Emerging risks from ballast water treatment: The run-up to the International Ballast Water Management Convention, in Chemosphere, volume 112, p. 256-266.
  8. Restrictions are based on rules established by the International Maritime Organization, Canadian laws and regulations applied by individual Canadian ports.
  9. World Wildlife Fund. (2020). Grey Water Dumping Threatens Ocean Health and People.
  10. Nuka Research and Planning Group, LLC. (2019). Bilateral Workshop: Grey Water Discharges from Vessels – Summary Report.
  11. Government of Canada. (2021). Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations. Subdivision 5 – Discharge of Sewage or Sewage Sludge.
  12. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2018). International Waste Directive. Appendix 2: Requirements for the handling, removal, and disposition of international waste at points of entry into Canada (airports, marine terminals, and land crossing). Government of Canada.