According to the Deputy Harbour Master: Strategy & Support, Orkney Islands Council- Harbour Authority David Hawkins; despite port side controversy, the rigorous testing of ships’ ballast water at the Port has been welcomed by many ship owners and operators to date.
He revealed this insight at the UK Chamber of Shipping and Fathom Maritime Intelligence’s joint Ballast Water Forum being held in London today.
With Orkney’s array of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs), Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSIs) and millions of special conservation areas, situated at or close to ports, the movement of ships can have a significant impact on the biodiverse and ecologically sensitive environment. Rigorous monitoring to establish the current environment and constant testing and assessments of ships passing through have thus been carried out to ascertain the implications that non-native species have upon the environment.
With an emphasis on research and monitoring pathways to establish a baseline health of the environment, David Sawkins reported that Orkney has implemented a policy since December 2013 to carry out “vital monitoring” as “you have to know what you have got” in order to ascertain the damage of operations and the movements of species into specific areas. Taking 4 years to carry out the required research before the policy was implemented, Mr Sawkins stated that this approach is essential for Orkney due to its environment, but emphasizes that not all ports will need this same approach as “not all ports are the same and will not need the exact details we have put in ours”.
To date though Orkney’s in-depth sampling analysis method has proved popular with ships, with shipping companies happy to participate in such thorough testing, even chasing for results soon after. Very rarely have they seen ships that are not willing to comply, regardless of the results. Mr Sawkins also stated that the definition between non-native and invasive species is confused and emphasised the importance of checking DNA to establish species that are truly invasive.
Image: Hatson Terminal, Orkney. Image Courtesy of Orkney Islands Council
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