News item | 5/17/2023 | 00:00
A ban on degassing while sailing will come into effect in the Netherlands on 1 July 2024 at the latest. This has been decided by Minister Mark Harbers (Infrastructure and Water Management). On that day, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate will enforce the degassing of the substances included in the ban while sailing.
The Netherlands has been working since 2013 to include a ban on degassing while sailing in the Ship Waste Convention (CDNI). In 2017, a number of European member states decided to ban it, but this amendment to the treaty still had to be ratified by the member states.
Switzerland has not yet fully completed ratification, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The convention stipulates that the prohibition takes effect six months after ratification by the last Contracting State.
Although Switzerland has not yet taken all the steps, Minister Harbers is already setting the date of 1 July. By putting this dot on the horizon, it is clear to all parties when the ban will take effect, and that they must make the necessary preparations for this.
Incidentally, the ban can also come into force earlier if Switzerland completes ratification earlier.
Minister Harbers: “The Netherlands has been working for years to get a ban on degassing while sailing in the CDNI treaty. It is very good news that there is now clarity about when the ban will take effect! In the coming months, all parties involved will look together at how we can take the necessary steps towards 1 July next year to degas ships in a different way from that date.”
The CDNI treaty states that the ban will take effect in phases: phase 1 concerns substances such as petrol, benzene and mixtures with more than 10 percent ethanol. Phase 2 contains a ban on the degassing of crude oil, flammable liquids and hydrocarbons with more than 10 percent benzene, among other things.
The parties involved in the Netherlands want to combine these two phases, because a large proportion of the substances mentioned in phase 1 are already transported on ships that do not transport any other substances, which means that degassing is not necessary. Moreover, there is also a stronger incentive to invest in degassing installations if these two phases are combined.
That is why Minister Harbers has decided to start these phases at the same time. “As a result, the Netherlands is ahead of the agreements made with other countries. I will therefore consult with my fellow ministers in the Contracting States to realize this merger in other Contracting States as well.”
The ministry will continue to talk to the sector parties and the provinces in the coming period. Before the summer there must be a roadmap with concrete actions and agreements to achieve an effective ban on 1 July.