According to Paul Squibb, IEng IMarEST, Superintendent, Absolute Shipping, the demise of the short sea shipping sector is a real possibility in the wake of the Ballast Water Management Convention implementation.
This was revealed during the first of three London Ballast Water Forums, hosted by the UK Chamber of Shipping in partnership with Fathom Maritime Intelligence. Mr Squibb stated that the problems surrounding the ability to find ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) that fit the size and power constraints of short sea shipping sector ships are increasing as the Convention edges closer to ratification.
The short sea sector ship owners are currently not able to find and install BWTS that are suitable for their ships, and therefore if the sector cannot work with the Convention to obtain suitable systems for compliance, it faces being scrapped. Mr Squibb continued, stating that small ports may shut down, companies may have to close and freight may be transferred from to sea to road, subsequently increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ironically contributing to climate change through this because of the lack of facilities that enable compliance with a Convention aimed at reducing the environmental impact of shipping.
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