Ocean transit is vital, but it can leave its mark. What more could the shipping industry do to help preserve marine life?
Along with much other advancement, international trade has become a pivotal part of the economy of many countries, and although ocean transport is one of the most efficient ways of transit, it does have its drawbacks in respect of the harm faced by marine biodiversity.
The adverse effects of large scale ocean transit could mean the eventual destruction of marine habitats where, for example, the impact of noise pollution is a greatly neglected issue. According to the World Health Organization, the noise produced by a ship is about 190 decibels, much more than is generated by a jet during takeoff. A great many marine organisms’ ability to find their prey, communicate and escape from being preyed on depends on their sense of sound.
Oil spillage due to sinkings or other incidents and chemical pollution due to the use of antifouling and cleaning chemicals can make waters highly toxic, and organisms and their habitats can face a fatal outcome as the stability of the marine ecosystem is disturbed. The release of waste products like bilge and ballast water from cargo ships can also have various ill effects. Bilge water substantially accounts for the increase in toxicity levels amid coral reefs and other habitats, and ballast water carries invasive species that can jeopardise native ones and throw food chains into disarray. Another muddle that accounts for the rapid decline of various species is collisions of ships – these massive moving objects – with marine fauna. And we still have numerous other emerging issues like ocean acidification, increasing ocean temperature and rising sea levels affecting the marine ecosystem. Many of these are related to greenhouse gases released by ships.
Unquestionably, global trade is crucial for our prosperity, but by comparison marine biodiversity seems to carry a lot less significance. So the shipping industry should help reverse this thinking by employing many measures to conserve marine ecosystems.
Awareness and publicity of the problems that marine life is facing due to increased shipping activities have only come about fairly recently, so regrettably there is still not yet widespread knowledge of these issues. However, most of the challenges, if not all, can begin to be addressed by making the peoples and governments of the world aware of the intensity of harm that humankind could face by wreckage of ocean ecosystems. This could be done by conducting seminars at national levels and through social media, and the shipping industry should work hand in hand with world governance in order to put in place the most budget-friendly and efficient solutions.
A thorough and detailed portrayal of the sea floor could be one major solution. Such mapping could help show the areas that are the most adversely affected and mark the most crowded zones. Transit of those areas could then be modified so as to help avoid further disruption.
The introduction of speed limits can help curtail underwater noise pollution, with areas greatly affected by noise pinpointed by specialised task forces and having distinct limits implemented. There should always be a quest for alternative routes, and even more curtailment of noise pollution is possible by means of propellers with frictionless technologies. An overall smaller number of what could be larger and more advanced ships would reduce ocean traffic, so the resulting issues would be far less in scale. The current fleet should also minimise cavitation by using modern technology in order to keep propellers corrosion-free by electroplating them with corrosion-resistant metals, and should also of course keep all engines well lubricated.
Oil spills can be minimised by performing thorough inspections of tanks prior to departure, to ensure that they are secure and leak-free. Continual crew training sessions, so all are fully familiar with procedures and the use of oil spill emergency response equipment, are a must, and upgraded navigation can help avoid oil spills near coral reefs and in shallow water. Also, constructing ships’ fuel tanks with compartments can help avoid or lessen spills in case of casualties, and professional training for rescue forces is a must-to thing in order to achieve the quickest possible extraction of any potential contaminants.
Use of antifouling and cleaning agents should be minimised, to help control pollution caused by them. Furthermore, we still have many other technologies that can be highly fruitful when used appropriately, such as high-pressure water-based cleaning techniques and laser removal of biofouling agents. Also, the shipping industry must collaborate with the blue economy’s biotechnological sector to develop less harmful and more eco-friendly antifouling methods.
Maritime waste need not, in any case, be directly discharged into the ocean, but instead proper onboard storage mechanisms must be set up and the waste should only be disposed of after thorough treatment in port. An alternative method involves converting ship waste into energy with which to power the ship.
Ballast water can be treated and filtered before being released into the ocean. Improved checks on vessels’ hulls and the use of technology that detects potential contaminants in ballast water can further enhance safety and environmental protection. Other and more direct (but maybe more controversial) solutions could be using fresh water instead of seawater, or water mixed with chemicals to inhibit non-native species.
Collisions with marine animals can be reduced by introducing speed limits in areas with greater populations and by using safer routeing, and advanced technologies should be introduced to detect the presence of whales and dolphins, the species which are most affected by collisions and noise.
Increasing the efficiency of vessel engines, so they use less fuel, would ultimately reduce the pace of climate change, and the shipping industry must invest in producing biofuels on a larger scale, because biofuel is the safest, and harmful exhaust gases can be made less toxic by using catalytic converters.
In sum, the shipping industry can play a pivotal part in forging a path towards a truly sustainable future for our oceans. The health of our seas is part and parcel of our own well-being, so let us ensure a future where vibrant marine ecosystems coexist with a flourishing maritime industry.
Mohammad Ashik Alam, Deck Cadet – LADY AMANDA
