Jamaica effectively addressing disposal of ship-generated waste
JAMAICA, THROUGH the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), is actively seeking to implement legislation to incorporate the provisions of MARPOL. MARPOL is the main international maritime convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships, including air emissions, from operational or accidental causes and is an International Maritime Organization (IMO) convention that deals with protection of our environment.
CEAC OUTSOURCING IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MARINE POLLUTION
For years, successive governments in Jamaica and the Caribbean have not been successful in adhering to MARPOL regulations by ensuring that proper waste-reception facilities are available to accept ship-generated waste, which is a requirement for member states. Every state in the region conducts substantial trade by ships.
Under the MARPOL regulations, vessels are required to land their garbage properly in any of the ports of IMO member states they visit and should also ensure that they obtain garbage receipts so that when their vessels are inspected by port state control officers, the officers can track what the vessels have done with all the garbage they have produced during the voyage.
When vessels cannot land this waste, unfortunately, much of it ends up being thrown overboard, which gives rise to ship-generated marine pollution. The MAJ, with responsibility for protection of the marine environment from ship-generated waste, is aided significantly through the work of CEAC Outsourcing to keep our waters and white, pristine beaches safe from marine pollution.
Two years ago, CEAC Outsourcing started operations under its HazPro brand and constructed a facility off the port, located in Hill Run St Catherine. They collect waste from vessels under very strict and controlled conditions, take it to their facility, where ordinary combustible waste, food waste and medical waste are incinerated.
“CEAC Outsourcing provides the best and most organised wastereception facility in Jamaica“said Captain Steven Spence, director of safety environment and certification, MAJ.
Through an agreement with another facility in St James, the company also collects sludge, which is oil waste. This is recycled and used in the resurfacing of roads, among other recognised applications.
MEDICAL WASTE DISPOSAL
If MARPOL’s strict requirement are met, and the ministries’, departments, and agencies’ rules are followed, vessels may discharge medical waste in a port. Jamaica has the capacity to receive this medical waste from ships, and also takes medical waste from hospitals and medical centres islandwide.
The activities at the Hill Run location include the storage and incineration of medical waste, industrial waste, and shipgenerated waste and is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Operators of the facility are trained to international standards, and all equipment utilised is certified as fit for purpose.
FACILITY IN MOBAY
CEAC Outsourcing also operates a facility in St James, which is closer to the cruise ports of Montego Bay and Falmouth. That location collects larger quantities of food garbage from ships. The waste from cargo vessels that call at the port of Kingston is, understandably, much less.
It would not be unusual for a cruise ship to have on board, hundreds of kilos of waste, which would need to be properly disposed of through incineration.
In 2018, CEAC Outsourcing collected and disposed of 5,000kg of ship-generated food waste.
ADHERES TO STRICT REGULATIONS
The company adheres strictly to the various environmental and health regulators such as the MAJ, the National Environmental Planning Agency, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) – particularly the Veterinary Services and Plant Quarantine Divisions. MICAF sets vigilant measures in place to ensure that there is no leakage from the trucks used by CEAC Outsourcing when waste is transported to prevent the spread of diseases.
This waste-disposal company takes measures to ensure that the ship waste is landed according to strict guidelines and is properly monitored and safely handled. The company is disposing of waste in a responsible way, preventing unlawful and arbitrary dumping.
TECHNICAL VISIT TO SITE
In January 2020, the MAJ made possible a technical visit by delegates from a Regional Caribbean Knowledge Partnership workshop facilitated by the IMO to the waste-reception facility operated by CEAC Outsourcing Company Limited, in Hill Run, St Catherine. The incinerator at the facility was hailed as state of the art by the IMO consultant.