Developing Strategies for Waste Management and Pollution Reduction in Red Sea Ports and Shipping Activities

Posted: February 29th, 2024

Developing Strategies for Waste Management and Pollution Reduction in Red Sea Ports and Shipping Activities

1.1. Overview of Red Sea Ports and Shipping Activities
A significant fraction of goods exported from the EU to Saudi Arabia and the nature of cargo transport at the ports will undoubtedly result in a greater release of pollutants into the atmosphere and discharge of ballast water and associated water washing the hulls, propellers, and cargo areas. An idea of the type and magnitude of cargoes can be obtained through examination of data on throughput of goods. According to Eurostat, the main exports of EU 25 countries in 2003 to extra-EU countries were machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, and other semi-manufactured and manufactured goods. This is comparable to JIP import data and will involve the same types of cargo at both ports. Major cargoes will involve raw materials for industrial processes, which would entail dry bulk cargoes. This is particularly relevant to KFIP as it is a support for the export and growth of the Eastern Province. An increase in polluting activities has the potential to damage the marine environment in the Red Sea and affect Saudi Arabian coastlines. It will be highly likely that there will be localized impacts at the ports from which shipping activities are based. The highest probability of pollution occurrence is equated to high levels of shipping activity and sea-related transport of goods in relation to incidents of operational discharge.
Over recent years, there has been an increase in demand for consumer products, which has resulted in significant growth in container traffic at JIP, while KFIP caters for bulk, roll-on/roll-off, and general cargo (Vision Realization Program, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2010). The increase in shipping activities at these two focal points has and will cause a higher negative impact on the surrounding marine environment. The shift in import and export of goods to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to and from the EU, has caused a dramatic increase in throughput. This is largely due to the fact that Saudi Arabia is the largest trading partner with the EU in the Gulf Cooperation Council and its membership to the WTO and General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs has formulated and implemented changes to trade policies and practices. These are conducive to trade facilitation towards economic development and diversification. From here on, it is essential to focus on identifying the types of wastes and pollutants so that effective management and prevention can be targeted.
The Red Sea is an increasingly significant location due to its geo-political position juxtaposed to the Suez Canal. As a consequence, shipping activities are constantly growing. Saudi Arabia has two main ports on the Red Sea: Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) and King Fahd Industrial Port (KFIP), which have been the focus of this study. JIP is one of the busiest ports on the Western Coast, and imports of Jeddah are destined for the Holy City of Makkah, which has a significant impact on the movement and type of goods in comparison with other ports.
1.2. Importance of Waste Management and Pollution Reduction
An official has declared that the protocol concerning land-based sources and activities is the most comprehensive regional agreement for protection of the marine environment and its resources in the developing world. Despite this, action concerning pollution across the Red Sea has not been consistent or readily visible. Economic difficulties and a long history of industrial development with a primary focus on resource extraction has made many Red Sea states unwilling or unable to invest in the required technologies and personnel to monitor or effectively prevent pollution. Recent increases in population density, industrial growth, and tourism means that preventing or mitigating the recent effects of pollution on the marine environment will be a difficult task. This is particularly relevant for most forms of pollution from urban, industrial, and agricultural sources, which impact the Red Sea due to its status as an important local resource for all Red Sea countries and a region of consistent economic importance. Due to the increase in shipping and changes in the types of goods transported, means that it is necessary to develop an effective plan for dealing with pollution from shipping over the past 20-30 years.
The importance of maintaining the natural resources of the Red Sea, particularly concerning pollution and waste management, has been a pressing concern for all Red Sea countries since the early 1980s. This concern culminated in a Lome-based Regional Organisation for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) in 1982. Articles 4 and 5 of PERSGA’s protocol on land-based sources and activities in the Red Sea explicitly specify that countries are to take preventive and corrective measures regarding pollution of the marine environment and its resources. This is to be done through rigorous monitoring of the various forms of pollution, interaction and exchange of information concerning said pollution and its effects, and the design or implementation of national and regional strategies for prevention, reduction, and control of pollution.
2. Current Challenges in Waste Management and Pollution Reduction
There are numerous amounts of hazardous waste generated in Red Sea ports. The increase in shipping activities has resulted in an increase in solid and chemical waste generated in the ports. The discharge of ballast water has resulted in the transfer of foreign species to the Red Sea. These species have the potential to disrupt the marine environment. In addition, large amounts of waste oil and an accumulation of end-of-life ships add to the present pollution load. The possible presence of persistent organic pollutants and organotins requires a comprehensive study on the types and quantities of wastes generated in the ports in order to plan for effective management. The seasonal and transient nature of the port populations add to the difficulty of waste management. With an increase in tourism, the ports as well as surrounding coastal areas have experienced increasing levels of sewage and littering. This has resulted in increased public health risks and the degradation of the marine and coastal environment.
2.1. Identification of Key Pollutants in Red Sea Ports
The first step in solving any problem is identifying the nature and scope of the problem. This is also true for environmental pollution. The most obvious manifestation of port and shipping pollution in the Red Sea is oil pollution. This takes two forms – operational discharge from normal shipping activities and accidental spills. Operational discharges result from the release of engine room oily wastes and inadequately treated bilge waters. Accidental oil spills are usually caused by tanker accidents and result in localized but severe damage to the marine environment. Although oil pollution is the most publicized type of pollution, the pollution of immediate concern to most Red Sea port states is the pollution of seawater and coastal sediments by a variety of toxic substances including heavy metals and pesticides.
An emerging concern is atmospheric pollution caused by shipping activities. It is predicted that emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides from shipping will increase globally and will need to be addressed by the Mediterranean Action Plan and national pollution control laws.
The significance of pollution from the discharges of sewage and plastic wastes is not well understood.
It is known that the destruction of pathogenic organisms in sewage by heat and sunlight is slower in the Red Sea than in the Mediterranean, and hence there is a greater potential for the spread of waterborne diseases in the Red Sea. But there have been no studies on the impacts of sewage discharges in Red Sea coastal waters. The discharge of plastic and other persistent wastes poses long-term risks to marine life and coastal tourism but the extent of the problem is not known.
2.2. Assessment of Existing Waste Management Practices
i. Solid waste coming from the land in the form of paper, plastic, food, cloth, wood, glass, metal, rubber, etc. If it is properly disposed of, it does not affect the marine environment to a great extent. In fact, it is much easier to manage in comparison to marine-based waste. The mishandling of solid waste leads to the problem. An example in the form of overuse of the landfills by Egypt and Riyadh. People who live in the ports get access to the landfills for scavenging and find useful goods and food. During their search for waste material, they rupture the sealed waste material and carry it with them, contaminating their hands and clothes. This contaminated waste is eventually brought back with the scavenger and deposited in the living quarters, further contaminating the land. Finally, some part is thrown into the sea. The consumption of the food found from the landfills directly affects their health. This source of solid waste is called garbage scavenging. The waste material found useful, like iron, scrap, bottles, etc., is directly collected and sold in the market. The proceeds from this sale are used to purchase food from the landfills. This kind of scavenging is also practiced in Yanbu, Jeddah, and all the other ports on the Red Sea. Generally, the ports should avoid the landfills and use proper methods for solid waste disposal, i.e. burning and burial. Alternatively, they should have collective non-incinerated waste collection in large trunks by the contractors and advertise a waste segregation and recycling scheme to utilize the disposable products in a more efficient manner and to derive economic benefit from the recyclates. The waste collectors need to be taught the etiquettes on the selection of waste collectable and unsuitable waste and its proper disposal. The contents of the large trunks should have a proper planned destination, either a hazardous waste treatment plant or sanitary landfill. The waste management practice at the KACST campus has the same problem of no proper waste segregation allotment and no regulated waste disposal area. This has led to the consumption of the food from the waste material by the employees, resulting in indirect similar effects as with the garbage scavengers at the port.
Irresponsible land-based waste disposal
2.3. Environmental Impact of Inadequate Waste Management
Many of the negative environmental impacts that were previously discussed, such as the destruction of fragile coral ecosystems, lowering of water quality, and depletion of fish stocks, are associated with inadequate waste management. The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) has identified the main causes of these problems and the associated pollutants, which have a direct link back to waste management issues. The pollution caused by oil and hydrocarbons, by anti-fouling paint from boats, and by ballast water (invasive species) are all problems that result from the process of shipping rather than from ports themselves. However, waste from boats and ships also adds to the overall problem. Given the relatively low level and dispersion of waste from boats and ships, it is the discharge of sewage from boats that is considered to have the greatest localized effects on water quality. In Egypt, about 175,000 cubic meters per year of raw sewage is discharged directly to the sea from boats and ships. This greatly adds to microbial pollution along the coast and has been found to be a cause of many of the reported cases of marine-borne illness. A wider issue of waste management and its effect on the environment can also be illustrated by the large amounts of refuse and domestic waste dumped in the sea near many local communities along the coast.
3. Strategies for Waste Management in Red Sea Ports
An effective strategy for waste management should recognize that there are various sources of rubbish and each may require a different method of disposal. Recycling is one of the most popularly used methods of waste disposal used today. Recycling is the process of reusing a given product (paper, plastic, glass) and reprocessing it into a new product, which in turn reduces the consumption of a new resource, reduces energy usage and pollution, and reduces land degradation and habitat destruction. Once the product is sorted, it is then cleaned, split into basic raw materials, and remanufactured into a new product. Simply, recycling is an environmental process of converting waste into reusable material and is widely considered the front line strategy in tackling waste management. High amounts of resources and energy are put into making products from raw materials and these can often take many years to replace. Recycling also preserves these resources for future generations. An excellent example of the practical implementation of recycling in the maritime industry is through the use of recycling unwanted and unusable ships and using them for their raw materials. Typically, an obsolete ship will have most hazardous materials removed from it and then be split into parts and/or scrapped. The scrap metal can then be reprocessed and used for new steel production. This method is simple yet effective and, in turn, promotes waste recycling and resource efficiency in the industry.
3.1. Implementation of Recycling Programs
The separation and recycling of waste materials are a key component of the waste management strategy at any level. Waste materials are separated on board the ships while in port and then recycled, reused, or disposed of. In ports with high levels of domestic waste from ferry and cruise activities, recycling programs can be developed with the municipality and other local partners to maximize the segregation and reuse of waste materials that have value. In most cases, this will involve the port providing clean separated waste materials and collection points, and an agreement with the local waste authority or a private company for recycling services. Care must be taken to ensure that recycling programs for domestic waste do not impact upon informal waste collectors who often play an important role in cost recovery for the poor.
Recycling can be maximized for cargo residues, containers, and vehicles using a mix of voluntary agreements and financial incentives. Recycling of waste from repaired or recycled ships or other waste from the repair/recycling industry, such as the off-cuts from steel cutting, can often be achieved using the investment into a simple on-site processing facility. For waste from specific shipping sectors, such as fishing or small pleasure boats, it is best to involve the producers in recycling programs. A refund system has been successful in some ports for oil and batteries from small boats where the waste collector gives a small sum of money back to the producer for each unit of waste collected, thus ensuring a clean waste stream and recycling at source.
3.2. Adoption of Sustainable Packaging and Disposal Methods
The current packaging problem can involve both toxic and non-toxic substances which may lead to air, water, and land pollution. The first recommendation in resolving this problem is to adopt a widespread use of sustainable packaging. This can involve the use of natural materials such as paper, cardboard, or biodegradable/compostable plastics instead of using expanded polystyrene, polyethylene, PVC or other materials which are not biodegradable. Unfortunately in the trade of goods, many packaging decisions are not made by the companies but rather by the consumer public. In this case incentives can be put in place to entice companies to use sustainable packaging. If the market is strong enough for sustainable packaging, this can reduce the available amount of toxic substances in marine transport environments. When goods are purchased that have excessive or non-essential packaging, efforts can be made to leave the waste at the port, not only concentrating on recycling efforts but also returning the packaging to the companies who originally sent the goods.
The next step is to minimise the amount of packaging used. Previous research has shown that a significant amount of the landfill waste attributed to packaging is actually the result of “pre-consumer” waste, which is defective packaging and unsold goods. The underlying issue here is that much of this packaging is non-essential and serves only aesthetic or brand identification purposes. In an examination of New York’s Solid Waste Management Plan, using the “source reduction” method to minimise pre-consumer waste was found to hold the greatest potential for reducing waste volume and subsequently conserving disposal space.
3.3. Collaboration with Local Communities and NGOs
Involvement of local communities in any form of cooperation or consultation requires establishing some form of relationship, often at odds with usual business-to-business interactions, between two distinctly different organizations. This presents a significant social challenge. Community cultures, and NGO cultures in particular, vary considerably from the organizational culture of companies and port authorities. Understanding this cultural diversity and bridging the gap between different organizations is necessary for effective collaboration. The process of cross-cultural management itself has the potential of increasing port awareness of the social and environmental context of their actions. In Malaysia, where there is growing concern over tax evasion by foreign companies and labor-intensive but low-technology investments from that raise opportunity costs of environmental damage, the state of Pulau Pinang succeeded in negotiating a foreign investment moratorium in favor of cleaner industries in return for technical assistance and a higher investment share from the companies. This success was attributed to the state’s ability to communicate its concerns effectively to leaders of foreign companies. Sufficient language and culture capability to fully understand and negotiate community issues is essential. This may involve personnel training and/or hiring from the local community. A practice which an Italian multinational ENI has undertaken in Congo with the objective of transferring certain managerial tasks to national workers.
In choosing a location for a port and the consequent development within the local community, companies are now finding it necessary to address critical social issues, both to fulfill their corporate social responsibilities and to secure the “social license” to carry out their development plans. Often in developing countries, the improvement of local conditions is an essential precondition for implementing a development project. Faced with lobbying from within and outside the company to mitigate negative impacts and maximize the benefits of port development to the local community, decision-makers are seeking effective ways of identifying community needs and securing local participation in the planning and implementation of development initiatives. An example can be found in Egypt where the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport successfully involved the local community in the planning of their new port through a participatory development simulation.
In recent years, the role of port authorities and private companies as catalysts for economic and social upgrading has significantly increased. Their actions often go well beyond their specific sector of activity and involve collaboration with local communities in various forms, aimed at increasing the competitiveness of local industry and the quality of life in the area.
3.4. Introduction of Waste Treatment Technologies
The specific requirements were not identified for this study. Resolving the legal requirements that stipulate how ports ensure compliance with MARPOL will assist in focusing the research. It was noted by a port representative that the study would be of interest to EU port regions, as many ports are struggling with the costs of waste management. It was not possible for the port representatives to give any specific technical requirements or expectations of the research at this stage. This makes it difficult to apply any method for determining the most appropriate technology, for example a multi-criteria analysis. The technology implemented at port may affect the surrounding marine environment, for example it was seen in chapter 2 that secondary wastewater treatment may produce sludge that is then dumped in the sea. The port authority or operator has a responsibility to ensure that installation and operation of the facility are not going to cause marine pollution. This is mandated under customary law and also specifically under Article 6 and 7 of the London Dumping Protocol.
4. Pollution Reduction Measures in Red Sea Shipping Activities
Because of the detrimental effects on the environment and human society, measures should be taken to reduce pollution produced by Red Sea shipping activities. The pollution reduction measures that should be implemented are the fixing and/or setting of new limits for emissions from ships and the promotion of alternative fuels and cleaner energy sources. Measures to prevent or reduce pollution in marine form include the implementation of a strategy to control pollution from land-based and maritime-based sources; and management of marine resources. The strategy includes both preventive and remedial measures, cost-effective measures to reduce impacts on the Red Sea environment. The strategy is compatible with national and regional development plans for the Red Sea countries and supports the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies by the maritime and tourism industries. The political commitment of the Red Sea countries to sustainable development involves the integration of environmental considerations in maritime transport and other activities to ensure that an acceptable level of environmental quality is achieved and maintained. The strategy aims to protect the marine environment from pollution originating from ships and from land-based sources at ports and other coastal installations. Measures to control land-based sources are dealt with in the Protocol on Land-based Sources.
4.1. Implementation of Emission Control Measures
The marine environment relative to air pollution is an issue that has risen to very substantial prominence in recent years. Ever-increasing sea-borne trade through the past decades has brought to light the substantial air pollution that is generated by the shipping industry. The serious health and environmental implications caused by this pollution have led to moves to combat emissions from shipping, with Regional Plans being developed under the umbrella of the MARPOL Convention (an international treaty to prevent marine pollution). The EU has been the forerunner in this and has developed its own regional plan which aims to further decrease air pollution caused by ships.
The Red Sea is a very sensitive semi-enclosed water body which is of immense economic and environmental importance to the countries that surround it. The shipping industries of these countries are of vital importance both domestically and on a global scale. Any measures to reduce emissions from shipping in the Red Sea must not hinder the flow of trade in the region, damage the economy of the coastal countries, or bring harm to the environment of the Red Sea. This understanding has led to the cooperation between UNEP/MAP IE in assessing the problem of shipping emissions in the Red Sea, and the IMO who has become a key partner in helping to implement measures to combat pollution caused by shipping.
4.2. Promotion of Alternative Fuels and Energy Sources
Currently, the use of LNG as an alternative fuel is the most feasible. The energy density of natural gas is around 25-30% less than that of fuel oil, but approximations show that it is still cost-effective due to the generally lower price of LNG. The mechanism for an LNG-powered ship involves a dual-fuel engine where the gas is kept in a cylinder and injected into the air in the correct proportion. Results of this are impressive, with SOx and particle emissions being close to zero, NOx emissions lowered by 85-90%, and CO2 emissions being decreased by 25%. At present, there are four-stroke dual-fuel engines being developed with the hope of creating a reliable and economic method of propulsion to rival diesel engines. LNG is still not a completely clean source of energy; it is primarily methane, and although there are no methane emissions during combustion, a methane slip can occur. CNG carriers are said to be using biomethane as a fuel source in the future. Biomethane is derived from organic matter and has the same benefits as natural gas. Although LNG is cleaner, it is not strictly renewable, and production of the gas can still lead to methane slip as it is often drawn from the ground along with crude oil.
Alternative fuels and energy sources represent a potentially practical proposal for decreasing pollution resulting from shipping activities. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alternative fuels are those that are used in place of gasoline or diesel. They are derived from renewable resources or produced domestically, and they provide the same benefits or better in fuel economy and/or emissions as traditional fuel. Currently, the global shipping industry relies almost completely on petroleum-based fuels (and more recently, residual fuels). The most commonly suggested alternatives for shipping are Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen and fuel cells, and wind-powered vessels.
4.3. Integration of Environmental Management Systems
Whilst such an approach is essential for the future, there is also a large legacy of accumulated waste and ongoing potential for environmental incidents of a damaging nature. Therefore, it is still necessary to develop effective contingency plans and remedial measures. An excellent method for inciting preventative action and ensuring company compliance with waste management regulations is the implementation of a permit and licensing system. Under such a scheme, companies would require a permit to discharge waste or perform specific activities, and would be subject to monitoring and fines for any violations of permit conditions. Permit fees could be used to finance environmental projects and research. However, direct investment in waste management and pollution control activities by shipping companies is more likely to occur given the right incentives, minimizing the imposition of impeditive regulation. As such, economic instruments such as a tax on marine pollutants or emissions would be an effective method of funding environmental initiatives and encouraging a shift to cleaner energy sources.
Due to the lack of alternative disposal sites, increased shipping activity and proposed cessation of at-sea waste disposal, there is a real need to develop comprehensive preventative waste management measures. These will be far more effective and less costly than any attempts to clean up pollution after its occurrence. A proactive approach to pollution control in shipping would focus on source reduction and waste minimisation techniques. This may be achieved by shipping companies through pollution prevention plans and altering methods or materials in the construction and repair of ships. Specific examples would be the use of dry-docking facilities for repair rather than in-water cleaning, or the substitution of anti-fouling paints with low toxicity alternatives.
The special nature of the Red Sea itself, as a partially enclosed sea almost entirely bounded by Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, has a significant influence on the effectiveness of pollution control measures. The enclosed nature of the water and limited shelf areas lead to long water residence times, and high levels of enclosure and stagnation keep pollutant dispersal levels low.
Several specific strategies for pollution control in the shipping industry have been proposed, such as Marpol 73/78. There is however significant potential to develop these more effectively, focusing on the specific characteristics of Red Sea shipping activities.