There was a recent documentary shown on TV about the cruise industry and the problems that they have post the coronavirus pandemic and others.
One of the shocking facts that were highlighted by this documentary was that there is virtually no one enforcing the rules around environmental issues once a ship has sailed into international waters and this coupled with ships being registered under flags of convenience, means that many cruise lines run their ships based solely on the profit margin.
In regard to the marine environment this is a disaster of epic proportions with ships discharging thousands of litres of sewage direct into the oceans instead of pumping it out on shore. Discharging to shore based facilities comes with a cost and as this affects the profit margin some cruise lines are more than happy to discharge into the seas.
With the oceans becoming more and more polluted every year we must take action to prevent this from carrying on. Ports have facilities to pump out the sewage into treatment systems and there should be pressure put on the cruise ship operators to ensure that all liners are prohibited from dumping their waste direct into the oceans.
Although New Zealand may be a very small country with little influence on the major cruise lines of the world we should be banning from our ports, those cruise lines where there is irrefutable evidence they have been dumping waste at sea. It only takes one action such as this to start a chain reaction that may eventually end with enforceable rules in place to prevent this dumping from taking place.
Since 1960, New Zealand has been a member of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The IMO is the United Nations agency responsible for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships (www.imo.org). In 1973 The IMO established the convention for The International for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, commonly referred to as MARPOL. The Convention’s six annexes manage:
The first two Annexes, prevent pollution by oil (I) and control pollution by noxious liquid substances (II). These must be accepted by countries that ratify MARPOL. The other annexes are voluntary. Therefore, any country that has ratified MARPOL must comply with the regulations, wherever they sail.
New Zealand is party to Annexes I, II, III and V, but has not yet acceded to Annex IV and VI (Wells 2012, pers.com). Therefore, New Zealand is not obligated to fully implement the requirements of Annex IV, which includes a complete ban on discharging untreated sewage from vessels within 12 nautical miles from land.
MARPOL Annex V, Regulation 11 contains requirements to:
Control pollution of the sea by sewage; the discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited,
Watching this TV documentary made me think about our own rules in New Zealand waters and what controls there are on our coastal shipping and also our recreational boating.
There are also thousands of private boats sailing in local waters that are discharging raw sewage into our coastal waterways with very few restrictions on them.
The restrictions are covered under the Resource Management (Marine Pollution) Amendment Regulations (1998) (as amended) which provide the national framework of restrictions for the managing discharges of sewage from vessels. Regional Councils are responsible for implementing and enforcing the regulations.
Key issues with the discharge of sewage from vessels within the Auckland region.
Auckland has coastal resources that attract local, regional, national and international tourists. The Hauraki Gulf is part of the “Auckland City of Sails” experience. A recent study by the Auckland City estimated economic values of the Hauraki Gulf as:
The Hauraki Gulf includes a range of “nature experiences”, examples include;
The discharge of sewage from vessels has the potential to have an adverse effect on tourist perceptions who are seeking out “natural” or an “eco” experience.
Auckland has a high concentration of recreational and boating activities. It is estimated that there is at least 132,000 boats and watercraft in Auckland (Beca, 2012), and 35% of New Zealand’s population lives around the Hauraki Gulf (Auckland Council, 2012).
It is expected that the demand for recreational boating will continue to grow, and with it, the need to manage sewage from vessels.
During holiday periods there are concentrations of boats in safe anchorages in and around the harbour, islands and the outer Hauraki Gulf. Robust information on the systems for managing sewage from these vessels is not available. In particular, information is not available on:
In the outer islands, of the Hauraki Gulf, the collection and disposal of sewage from vessels is problematic. In 2004, a study was commissioned by Auckland Regional Council on the management of wastewater at remote locations. The study assumed that all boats have holding tanks and can pump-out sewage. It found that:
The main risk posed by sewage being discharged from vessels relates to human health effects during swimming and through the consumption of contaminated seafood.
Swimmers and other people in contact with sewage risk skin infections, respiratory problems and infections by disease causing bacteria, viruses and parasites (MfE 2002). Water borne diseases spread by sewage include:
Shellfish are filter feeders, which can concentrate the disease causing organisms that occur in sewage (MfE 2002). This poses a risk to the recreational boating community and to the local communities who gather seafood.
Contamination of marine farms can place the wider public and export market at risk. Sewage and other pollutants are measured at marine farms and if levels exceed safety guidelines the marine farm can be closed or have a restricted harvest. Aquaculture in the Hauraki Gulf generates $99 million for the regional economy (Auckland Council, 2011).
Closure of marine farms due to sewage discharges, from vessels, would lead to a negative economic impact for the business owner and the broader economy. It could also affect New Zealand’s reputational values.
Maori values are strongly connected with water quality. They believe that water not only supports human and marine life, but also has a spiritual component.
When discussing water, Maori refer to the “life force” or “Mauri” of the water. Mauri is intrinsically linked with the ability to harvest food from the water, mahinga kai (food gathering).
In 1998, the Government issued the Resource Management (Marine Pollution Regulations) to manage the discharge of pollution into the marine environment. Regional councils and unitary authorities are responsible for the implementation of these regulations. There are two key issues with the application of regulations in the Auckland Region:
The key issues with the discharge of sewage from vessels are:
Section 11, 12 and 12a of the Resource Management (Marine Pollution) Regulations 1998 govern the discharge of sewage from vessels.
Section 11 prohibits the discharge of sewage, unless that discharge is more than 500 metres seaward from Mean High Water Springs (MHWS) or any marine farm or mataitai reserve or 200 metres from any marine reserve.
On or after 1 July 2000, no person may discharge sewage in the coastal marine area from a ship or offshore installation unless that discharge occurs—
Section 12 Discharge of Grade A treated sewage in coastal marine area:
The New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010 under policy 23 (2) states-
In managing discharge of human sewage, do not allow
Policy 23 (5) is also a key policy in relation to discharge of sewage from vessels, as it requires Regional Councils, to ensure ports, marinas and other maritime facilities to provide for the collection of sewage from vessels, and for it to be safely disposed.
New Zealand has one of the highest levels of recreational boating activities in the world. We have over 15,000km of coastline making New Zealand the 10th longest coastline of all countries in the world. As boating continues to increase in popularity, it becomes increasingly important to educate boaters about environmentally sound boating practices that help reduce pollution from boat operation and maintenance.
Yet in Auckland City we are still discharging untreated sewage to the Hauraki Gulf every time we have a significant rain event through the inability of our sewage system to cope. The raw sewage overflows into our stormwater system which is then discharged direct into the Hauraki Gulf.
This has been happening for many years now and as the population has increased so has the scale of the problem as evidenced by the fact that currently there are approximately fifty beaches around the Auckland region where the public are being advised not to enter the water due to contamination by bacterial coliforms related to the discharge of sewage.
This same problem occurs in our freshwater environment where towns and cities discharge their untreated stormwater and treated effluent from sewage plants into the adjacent waterways but the main difference is that in the freshwater environment the farming industry is being held to blame for all of the pollution and being expected to fund actions to fix the problems.
Andy Loader
Co-Chairman P.L.U.G.