ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

ISO 14001: 2004 (ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS - EMS) DEFINITIONS

Terms and definitions (Όροι και ορισμοί)


For the purposes of ISO 14001 / 2004, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
auditor
person with the competence to conduct an audit
[ISO 9000:2000, 3.9.9]
3.2
continual improvement
recurring process of enhancing the environmental management system (3. in order to achieve improvements in overall environmental performance (3.10) consistent with the organization's (3.16) environmental policy (3.11)
NOTE: The process need not take place in all areas of activity simultaneously.

3.3
corrective action
action to eliminate the cause of a detected nonconformity (3.15)
3.4
document
information and its supporting medium
NOTE 1: The medium can be paper, magnetic, electronic or optical computer disc, photograph or master sample, or a combination thereof.
NOTE 2 Adapted from ISO 9000:2000, 3.7.2.



3.5
environment
surroundings in which an organization (3.16) operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans, and their interrelation
NOTE Surroundings in this context extend from within an organization (3.16) to the global system.
3.6
environmental aspect
element of an organization's (3.16) activities or products or services that can interact with the environment (3.5)
NOTE: A significant environmental aspect has or can have a significant environmental impact (3.7).
3.7
environmental impact
any change to the environment (3.5), whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization's (3.16) environmental aspects (3.6)
3.8
environmental management system
EMS
part of an organization's (3.16) management system used to develop and implement its environmental policy (3.11) and manage its environmental aspects (3.6)
NOTE 1 A management system is a set of interrelated elements used to establish policy and objectives and to achieve those objectives.
NOTE 2 A management system includes organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures (3.19), processes and resources.
3.9
environmental objective
overall environmental goal, consistent with the environmental policy (3.11), that an organization (3.16) sets itself to achieve
3.10
environmental performance
measurable results of an organization's (3.16) management of its environmental aspects (3.6)
NOTE In the context of environmental management systems (3., results can be measured against the organization's (3.16) environmental policy (3.11), environmental objectives (3.9), environmental targets (3.12) and other environmental performance requirements.
3.11
environmental policy
overall intentions and direction of an organization (3.16) related to its environmental performance (3.10) as formally expressed by top management
NOTE The environmental policy provides a framework for action and for the setting of environmental objectives (3.9) and environmental targets (3.12).
3.12
environmental target
detailed performance requirement, applicable to the organization (3.16) or parts thereof, that arises from the environmental objectives (3.9) and that needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives
3.13
interested party
person or group concerned with or affected by the environmental performance (3.10) of an organization (3.16)
3.14
internal audit
systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the environmental management system audit criteria set by the organization (3.16) are fulfilled
NOTE In many cases, particularly in smaller organizations, independence can be demonstrated by the freedom from responsibility for the activity being audited.
3.15
nonconformity
non-fulfilment of a requirement
[ISO 9000:2000, 3.6.2]
3.16
organization
company, corporation, firm, enterprise, authority or institution, or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated or not, public or private, that has its own functions and administration
NOTE For organizations with more than one operating unit, a single operating unit may be defined as an organization.
3.17
preventive action
action to eliminate the cause of a potential nonconformity (3.15)
3.18
prevention of pollution
use of processes, practices, techniques, materials, products, services or energy to avoid, reduce or control (separately or in combination) the creation, emission or discharge of any type of pollutant or waste, in order to reduce adverse environmental impacts (3.7)
NOTE: Prevention of pollution can include source reduction or elimination, process, product or service changes, efficient use of resources, material and energy substitution, reuse, recovery, recycling, reclamation and treatment.
3.19
procedure
specified way to carry out an activity or a process
NOTE 1 Procedures can be documented or not.
NOTE 2 Adapted from ISO 9000:2000, 3.4.5.
3.20
record
document (3.4) stating results achieved or providing evidence of activities performed

Source: ISO 14001: 2004 STANDARD

According to the latest annual survey by the International Salvage Union (ISU), the amount of oil spilled in 2006 was at one of the lowest levels for over 35 years. The number of tanker salvage operations also fell to 18 salvage cases involving tankers compared with 34 in 2005. Tankers were involved in only 8% of the total number of salvage cases.

The total amount of oil cargo recovered by ISU members was 566,793 tonnes against 875,331 tonnes in 2005 (the ISU figures refer to cargo and bunkers carried in the vessels which were salved). The amount of crude oil and diesel recovered stood at 400,581 tonnes. Crude and diesel accounted for 71% of the total, while other oil cargoes such as gasoline and dirty ballast represented 15%, bunkers 13% and chemicals 1%. The amount of crude and diesel fell by 25%, bunkers by 10% to 79,943 tonnes, while chemicals saw a sharp decline of 90% to 5,635 tonnes.

The biggest tanker salvage operation involved the ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of 145,396 tonnes of crude. In all, salvors carried out 21 STS operations, compared with 20 in 2005.

Salvage services were rendered to 233 vessels, compared with 247 in 2005. In more than 50 of the cases, the salvage contract employed was the Lloyd's Open Form. Hans Van Rooij, ISU President, said the amount of crude oil involved last year reversed the trend of increased levels of oil cargo recoveries seen in recent years.

The International Tanker Operators Pollution Federation (ITOPF) also recorded an extremely low figure for oil pollution - only counting oil actually spilled. According to the ITOPF figures, the lowest amount of pollution occurred in 2001 when 8,000 tonnes were spilt, while 2006 was, together with 1998, the second best year with 13,000 tonnes of oil spilt.

Looking at the above graph and at this decade, there is no doubt that we have entered a new era with regard to oil spills from tankers. Average pollution, both in the number of large spills and in the total tonnes spilt, declined by some 63% from the 1970s to the 1980s, and by 3%/16% by dwt/number in the 1990s compared to the 1980s. The decline in this decade compared to the 1990s has been 78%/52% by dwt/number.

The best known spill in the 1970s was that of the Amoco Cadiz, which in 1978 spilled 223,000 tonnes off Brittany in France. The biggest spill ever, also in the 1970s, came from the Atlantic Empress, which in 1979 spilt 287,000 tonnes off Tobago, in the West Indies. The best known spill in the 1980s also concerned an oil company tanker, the Exxon Valdez, which in 1989 spilled 37,000 tonnes in the Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. The biggest spill in the 1980s was that of the Castillo De Bellver, which in 1983 spilt 252,000 Off Saldanha Bay, South Africa.

There were several spectacular spills in the 1990s: the ABT Summer in 1991 spilt 260,000 tonnes of oil 700 nautical miles off Angola; the Haven in 1991 exploded outside Genoa spilling 144,000 tonnes. In 1992 the Aegean Sea spilt 74,000 tonnes after running aground when approaching La Coruna; the Katina P in spilt 72,000 tonnes of oil off Maputo, Mozambique. The Braer in 1993 spilt 85,000 tonnes on the shores of Shetland Islands and the Sea Empress spilt 72,000 tonnes outside Milford Haven.

The three largest oil spills ever recorded by ITOPFwere that of the Atlantic Empress in 1979, the ABT Summer in 1991 and the Castillo De Bellver in 1983, but they resulted in very low clean up and damage costs because none of the oil reached the coast line.It is not necessarily the size of the oil spill that matters most, but the location of the spill, the type of oil, the weather conditions and to some extent the ability of the authorities to limit the damage of the spill.

The most significant oil spills in the last ten years were the Erika, which spilt 20,000 tonnes off France, and the Prestige, which spilt 63,000 tonnes off Spain. These two serious spills were both related to hull damage and involved heavy fuel oil. They both revealed weaknesses in the maritime quality assurance system and resulted in an accelerated phase out of SH tankers and a number of other initiatives and regulations.

Source: Intertanko

INTERTANKO would like to remind the membership of the excise duty known as NOx-tax which is being assessed on emissions from vessels within Norwegian territorial waters.

The tax on domestic NOx emissions was implemented on 1 January 2007. The purpose of the tax is to reduce the annual NOx emissions in Norway to 156,000 tonnes by 2010, in accordance with Norway's obligations stipulated in the Gothenburg Protocol (the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone), which Norway ratified on 30 January 2002. The Protocol sets emission ceilings for 2010 for four pollutants: sulphur, NOx, VOCs and ammonia.

Please click here to view the Directorate of Customs and Excise web site (English version). Please scroll down the page. The NOx-tax issue is listed under Short Cuts (we are not able to provide a link directly to this information in English). The site provides a Fact Sheet on the NOx-tax. Guidelines are already available on the site but a further revision is imminent. Members are therefore well advised to consult this web site for further updates. The site also provides a list of Competent Bodies which are licensed by the Directorate to effect payments of the tax.

Members will also find the attached memorandum to be informative on these regulations and their impact.

Source: Intertanko

Source: Intertanko

56th Session of Marine Environmental Protection Committee

Source: Lloyd's Register

Carbon dioxide emission trials by ship type.

Control of ships in emergency.

Fire prevention in machinery spaces and cargo pump rooms.

Source: HELMEPA