The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) informed the shipping community that exhaust gas cleaning residues generated by ships are classified as Toxic Industrial Waste (TIW) under Singapore’s Environmental Public Health (Toxic Industrial Waste) Regulations.
According to the Environmental Public Health (Toxic Industrial Waste) Regulations, TIW must be collected and managed by licensed Toxic Industrial Waste Collectors (TIWCs). Ships that wish to dispose of exhaust gas cleaning residues in Singapore are required to engage a licensed TIWC for the collection and disposal of such residues.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
TIWCs can arrange for the residues to be offloaded in packaged form or in intermediate bulk container tanks directly to trucks and MPA licensed harbour craft for ships at berth and at anchorages, respectively.
What is more, during 2018 MPA Singapore announced that it will ban the discharge of wash water from open-loop scrubbers, as from January 1, 2020. The ban is part of the MPA’s attempt to prepare the port ahead of the 2020 sulphur cap.
As Andrew Tan, Chief Executive Officer of the MPA, explained, this ban aims to protect the marine environment and ensure that the port waters are clean. Namely, vessels with hybrid scrubbers will need to change to close-loop scrubbers.
MPA Singapore has also provided a list of the licensed TIWCs, which are able to collect such residues.
