What Is A Ship's Garbage Management Plan (GMP)?

Along with the consequences of oil and toxic gas emissions, waste produced on ships during routine operations is one of the factors contributing to marine pollution. These waste materials, which are just as damaging to marine life and the ecosystem as oil is to the sea, include plastic, synthetics, oil rags, cardboard boxes, etc.

 

Garbage on ship refers to all types of victual domestic and operational waste that are produced during normal ship operations and that must be disposed of continuously or on a regular basis, excluding fish and parts thereof and food waste, with the exception of substances that are listed in other Annexes of the MARPOL Convention. 

 

The Rubbish Management Plan is a comprehensive manual that includes written instructions for gathering, storing, processing, and disposing of garbage produced onboard ship in accordance with the rules set forth in Annex V of MARPOL.

 

The crew of a ship must get training on safe waste disposal on board as well as understanding of the rules of rubbish disposal at sea and in restricted regions.

 

According to the organization's guidelines, a GMP must be written in the working language of the crew on all ships over 100GT and on ships certified to carry at least 15 people. GMP will be kept on file as a record for two years from the date of the last input.

 

The ship's waste management strategy is to be maintained by a responsible officer. Typically, the head officer and the second engineer are in charge (engine department).

 

A valid waste management strategy must include the following:

•    Ships details

 

•    An overview of MARPOL Annex V

 

•    Equipment list for handling trash on ships

 

•    Posting of disposal criterion placards

 

•    Potential local recycling plans

 

•    Written guidelines for garbage collection

 

•    The explanation of waste segregation, which prevents garbage from being mixed together, includes choosing the right containers for collection and separation

 

•    On-board garbage processing techniques are available

 

•    Waste stations and garbage storage techniques

 

•    Trash removal techniques

 

•    Entry to be made in garbage record book

 

•    Emergency and unintentional discharge criteria

 

•    Need of the reception facilities

 

•    Determine the equipment collection's available operating and maintenance procedures

 

•    Describe the training or education programs to facilitate the processing of garbage

 

•    Indicate where each collection point is located

 

One of the challenges that nations all over the world are currently facing is the rising amount of waste and its poor management. Whether it be industrial or agricultural trash, the disposal of waste materials is increasing at a startling rate, damaging the land, air, and water like never before. 

 

According to studies, 40 percent of the world's waste is dumped in massive landfills, and by 2050, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish. However, the concerted efforts over the past few decades have significantly altered our culture of throwaway goods and created a lot of opportunities for garbage disposal options. Among these, recycling is recognized as one of the effective approaches to trash management.

 

The shipping sector, which is one of the major pollutants in the world, produces a lot of waste every day just like any other industry. While ships regularly discard hundreds of tons of debris from their daily operations, they also leave behind a significant quantity of waste when they are scrapped after their useful lives have expired, potentially endangering the ecosystem. 

 

There are many graves of abandoned ships all throughout the world as a result of the improper disposal of the ships in former times, particularly when they were left neglected after being removed from service. Additionally, ship owners have tried a number of additional strategies over the years, such as shipbreaking, deep water sinking, and scuttling—the intentional sinking of a ship. 

 

While shipbreaking has been the most popular method of ship disposal among them, the unscrupulous methods of shipbreaking have led to the dumping of poisonous and dangerous materials like asbestos and PBCs on beaches and other public areas. 

 

Companies occasionally discharge their ships onto the shores of developing nations like Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, where the locals are free to disassemble the ship without following the required procedures. 

 

But now because recycling and reusing materials is a crucial requirement, the shipbreaking procedure has also seen the recycling of the vessel's components.

 

Additionally, as people's understanding of the maritime environment has grown, there have been a number of adjustments made to the procedure, giving rise to the term "green ship recycling." 

 

The 2009 Hong Kong International Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships by the International Maritime Organization was very clear that after their service life are up, ships should not pose any extra dangers to human health, safety, or the environment. 

 

Green ship recycling has been implemented all over the world as a practical substitute for existing shipbreaking techniques that have a harmful impact on the environment. This technique for ethical ship recycling keeps waste products from shipbreaking off of the beaches and lowers garbage production, both of which have an adverse effect on the environment. 

 

The idea of green ship recycling has become well-known and important for a number of reasons. However, among these, the following advantages stand out: 

 

•    Isolate those elements of the ship which are toxic and detrimental to both marine and human lives

 

•    conserving the marine ecosystem through proper shipwreck waste disposal

 

•    Reusing crucial and successfully reusable ship components for creating new ships to conserve resources

 

•    Maximize the use of the ship's components to benefit the ship-owner

 

The valuable components of a ship that are reused include steel, aluminum, silver brass, among others. Steel makes up a large portion of a ship's weight, thus the scrap steel from the ship is being turned into bars and rods for a variety of other uses. However, a vessel also contains a variety of harmful materials in addition to the recyclable metal. 

 

These dangerous compounds include asbestos, lead, mercury, and oil sludge, among others. The irresponsible disposal of these poisonous and hazardous trash is made possible by the ineffective shipbreaking techniques, particularly those used on beaches rather than in dry-dock ship recycling facilities. A superior recycling quality is provided by the green ship recycling, which has tremendous responsibility for preserving the environment. 

 

Asbestos is a significant dangerous substance that is securely disposed of with the use of the green ship recycling process. Any reputable website that provides information about asbestos will warn you that asbestos has been prohibited from usage in ships for the previous 20 years. But now asbestos must be recycled from the ships where it was first utilized. 

 

Asbestos is being recycled with greater caution in this method because prolonged exposure to it might have negative effects on both persons on board the ship and marine animals. The green recycling facilities with dry-dock facilities capture the toxic waste properly and dispose of it without allowing it to flow out into waterways, in contrast to the unhealthy process in which the dismantling of the vessel occurs on beaches. 

 

There are so many green ship recycling labs, and they are so well-equipped, that the success rate for getting dangerous materials disposed of is almost 99%.These green recycling facilities not only save the environment, but they also provide additional green recycling jobs and a secure working environment for the workers.

 

However, this environmentally friendly and secure recycling of a ship also provides the owner with the greatest possible utility of the ship's pieces. The vessel is meticulously disassembled so that the parts that can be reused are better preserved. The steel is transformed into rods for use in the building industry, as well as corner castings and hinges, along with other metal components. 

 

The batteries and generators that were a part of the demolished vessel will be utilized again for a variety of projects. When recycled properly, the hydrocarbons on board are converted into oil products, and light fixtures can be used again on another boat or even on land. Passport in Green

 

In accordance with the International Maritime Organization's regulations, a ship must possess a specific document known as the Green Passport in order to participate in the recycling of green ships. Details about all the substances used in a vessel's construction, particularly those that are hazardous to human health, are included in the Green Passport. 

 

The shipyard will hand over the green passport during construction, and it will later be updated with all the alterations made to the ship over the course of its lifetime. Additionally, the ship recycling facilities are required to give the relevant authorities a "Ship Recycling Plan." The strategy will include how each vessel will be recycled, taking into account its specifics and inventories. 

 

At first, only industrialized nations with cutting-edge technologies used green ship recycling. However, even developing nations are already beginning to adopt procedures that support green ship breaking. Seminars and symposiums are held all over the world to raise awareness of the advantages of green ship breaking among shipbuilders and owners. 

 

Along with discussing the benefits of ship recycling, these workshops and seminars also offer several workable ways to carry out the process of shipbreaking. These strategies save costs and make ship recycling easier for shipping companies. Due to its high success rate, green ship recycling may one day become even more well-known and significant to the marine sector. 

 

It can be anticipated that the practice of shipbreaking will become even more widespread and practical throughout all countries in the world as further technology advancements are realized.