Wei Chen
Call for Action on Sewage Treatment with No-Sludge Production
In late 2018, The Maritime Executive featured an editorial by me, Dr. Wei Chen of Wärtsilä Water Systems, on the subject of pollution by sewage from ships which suggested a widening gap between the marine rules and realities. It also mentioned a number of non-conformity issues associated with some certified sewage treatment plants. Now, a group of equipment suppliers, independent laboratories, academia, representatives of an environmental NGO and a shipowner, have come together to explore one particular issue regarding...
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Sewage from Ships – Better Guidelines are Needed
The IMO’s MARPOL Annex IV Convention aims at the “Prevention of pollution by sewage from ships.” Installing an approved sewage treatment plant has been a popular option for ships sailing internationally. The Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) has developed Guidelines on sewage treatment plant effluent standards and performance test specifications. However, in the absence of an effective enforcement regime, the vast majority of the sewage treatment plants installed are “discharging virtually untreated sewage” (MEPC 67/8/1). To make matters worse, some...
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Sewage from Ships – Rules and Realities
Sewage pollution control was the first environmental initiative in history. Technologies and regulations for the land-based wastewater industries have been evolving for more than a century, bringing tangible improvements to our aqua environment. The IMO’s MARPOL Annex IV Convention, which aims at achieving the prevention of pollution by sewage from ships, was developed in the 1970s, and entered into force since 2003. It contains a set of regulations prohibiting sewage discharge from ships, unless via an approved sewage treatment plant,...
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