IBIA made a statement during the February session of the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 7) under the agenda item where the IMO is grappling with the contentious issue of discharges to water from scrubbers.
Bans on open loop discharges have been applied in various ports and countries, often without providing a scientific explanation for it, IBIA says. For this reason, the IMO has agreed to start working on ways to harmonise the approach when considering local restrictions on EGCS discharges to water.
After reviewing various submissions to PPR 7, IBIA’s Director and representative to the IMO, Unni Einemo, made the following statement during the meeting:
Anyone observing the discussions around the subject of discharges to water from EGCS must be struck by how hard it is to come to clear conclusions, when the evidence presented to us appears to support opposing views. Our task when trying to establish the right policies are further complicated by a well-known phenomenon called “confirmation bias” meaning we have a tendency to trust any evidence that supports our opinions, and be suspicious about any evidence that goes against what we believe to be right
Ms. Einemo added that the industry must look all the available evidence without prejudice. In light of this, IBIA shared the concerns raised by CLIA in PPR 7/12/6 commenting on the report by the GESAMP Task Team on scrubbers. IBIA found it alarming that the report appears to have given more consideration to some studies than others, especially if the most solid and comprehensive studies were not given due consideration.
IBIA also highlighted the observations and proposals contained in PPR 7/12/3 by Japan, saying that it offers a way forward that can in fact satisfy the needs of all parties concerned. As Japan and others have pointed out in various submissions, conditions in ports and coastal waters vary greatly, meaning the potential impact of discharges from scrubbers is not uniform either.
We believe Japan’s proposal to develop guidelines to provide recommended procedures for environmental impact assessments, in line with what we already have in the criteria and procedures for designation of Emission Control Areas (ECAs) and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs), makes perfect sense as it allows for recognising the unique conditions and concerns of specific areas
Japan’s proposal addresses the concern about states taking unilateral decisions to ban discharges from open loop scrubbers without providing scientific justification.
In conclusion, IBIA supports Japan’s proposal to develop IMO guidelines for evaluating the potential need and provide relevant justification for specific area restrictions on discharges of liquid effluents from scrubbers.
