What are the problems?
Shipping exerts a number of pressures
The main pressures associated with maritime shipping in the OSPAR area include the following:
- Pollution by oil and hazardous or toxic substances from incidental, operational and illegal discharges.
- Air pollution through emissions and particulate matter from engine exhaust gases and cargo tanks, which may be carried over long distances.
- Discharge and disposal of wastes from ships including sewage and litter.
- Release of toxic chemicals used in anti-fouling paints and anodes.
- Introduction of non-indigenous organisms through ships’ ballast water and associated sediments, and fouling on ships’ hulls.
- Pollution and physical impact through loss of ships and cargo.
- Physical and other impacts including noise and collision with marine mammals.