Bilge pollution

Bilge pollution can be prevented if bilge water, which is a normal accumulation of polluted water in the bilge of a marine vessel, is treated before it is discharged from said vessel.

Bilge water treatment in the United States is largely regulated by the Clean Water Act (CWA), which is jointly enforced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Coast Guard.{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OW |date=2015-09-15 |title=Vessel Sewage Discharges: Statutes, Regulations, and Related Laws and Treaties |url=https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-and-ports/vessel-sewage-discharges-statutes-regulations-and-related-laws-and |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}} Section 301(a) of the CWA outlaws the discharge of any pollutant from a marine vessel, unless the discharge is in compliance with regulations provided in other sections of the CWA. Bilge pollution is defined as a type of ‘‘discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel" in § 1322 of the CWA.{{Cite act|title=U. S. Code: Title 33 - Navigation and Navigable Waters|index=33 U.S.C.}} The EPA sets standards for the amount of different pollutants that bilge water can contain before being discharged into large bodies of water. If the bilge water is not in compliance with these standards at the time of the bilge water being released, then individuals and/or companies involved in the pollution may face fines.{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OW |date=2015-09-15 |title=Vessel Sewage Discharges: Statutes, Regulations, and Related Laws and Treaties |url=https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-and-ports/vessel-sewage-discharges-statutes-regulations-and-related-laws-and |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}

International bilge water standards have been in place since the MARPOL 73/78 convention, sponsored by the International Maritime Organization.{{Cite web |title=MARPOL Annex I – Prevention of Pollution by Oil |url=https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/OilPollution-Default.aspx#:~:text=The%20MARPOL%20convention,%20in%201983,compliance%20must%20be%20carried%20out. |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=www.imo.org}} The current standards were set in 1996 by Regulation 16 of MARPOL Annex I, which requires vessels weighing more than 400 tons to be fitted with an oily water separator, and establishes that bilge water released into international waters must have an oil content of less than 15 parts per million (ppm).International Maritime Organization. "[https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MEPCDocuments/MEPC.51(32).pdf Amendments to the Annex of the Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973]" March 6, 1992.

The most common reason that vessels engage in bilge pollution is to avoid buying bilge treatment equipment or paying to dispose of bilge water in designated facilities, which can become very expensive.{{Cite web |title=Environmental Injustice at Sea: The Impacts of Bilge Dumping on Indonesia's Coastal Communities |url=https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/environmental-injustice-at-sea-the-impacts-of-bilge-dumping-on-indonesias-coastal-communities/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science |language=en-US}} Bilge pollution incidents occur frequently, which causes oil pollution in bodies of water to accumulate over time, causing harm to marine ecosystems. However, perpetrators of bilge pollution, which can include maintaining incomplete or forged records relating to bilge discharge, can lead to hefty fines.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-22 |title=Office of Public Affairs {{!}} Ocean Vessel Operator Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Pay $2 Million for Marine Environmental Crimes {{!}} United States Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/ocean-vessel-operator-pleads-guilty-agrees-pay-2-million-marine-environmental-crimes |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}} There have been countless accounts of bilge pollution around Indonesia, which can negatively affect the fishing economy there. In 2022, the company New Trade Ship Management S.A. and its chief engineer Dennis Plasabas pleaded guilty to maintaining false and incomplete records of bilge discharge from the carrier vessel Longshore.{{Cite web |date=2022-08-09 |title=Office of Public Affairs {{!}} Vessel Operator and Chief Engineer Convicted for Oily Bilge Water Discharge Offense {{!}} United States Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/vessel-operator-and-chief-engineer-convicted-oily-bilge-water-discharge-offense |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}} In 2023, Zeaborn Ship Management out of Singapore was charged with "dump[ing] over 7,500 gallons of oily bilge water from the Star Maia into the ocean without first processing the oily bilge water through required pollution prevention equipment" and fined $2 million. In 2024, a company based in Mexico, Gremex Shipping, was fined $1.75 million for discharging untreated bilge water into the ocean and falsifying records regarding these actions.{{Cite web |last=Ports |first=Ships & |date=2024-11-04 |title=Mexico-Based Gremex Shipping Fined $1.75 Million in U.S. Marine Pollution Case |url=https://shipsandports.com.ng/mexico-based-gremex-shipping-fined-1-75-million-in-u-s-marine-pollution-case/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Ships & Ports |language=en-US}} However, many more bilge pollution incidents occur than are detected or punished, furthering ocean pollution and harm to marine ecosystems.

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Category:Ocean pollution

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