Occupational health and safety aspects of green shipping in the Baltic Sea

Karin Reinhold,Marina Järvis,Gunnar Prause

doi:10.9770/jesi.2019.7.1(1)

Karin Reinhold, Marina Järvis + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2019.7.1(1)

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Abstract

After the implementation of the SECA regulation in BSR in 2015, one other step towards cleaner shipping will be the NECA regulation from 2021. Thus, green shipping is an important highlight on the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) environmental agenda. It is well known that shipping is one of the most international industries but it also represents one of the most dangerous businesses since maritime sector workers are often exposed to a number of occupational hazards such as difficult and uncontrolled climate conditions, emissions, noise, vibration, chemicals, and long hours of work in combination with rigid organisational structures, isolation and high levels of psychological stress. Maritime workers are often confronted with health problems, occupational diseases, incidents and occupational accidents. This sends a strong pointer that green shipping should also imply greener maritime jobs so that the work becomes safer for workers and corresponds to the global challenges of environmental protection, economic development and social inclusion. The presented research analyses the health and safety aspects of green shipping in the context of occupational health and safety (OSH) to identify set of indicators that are essential to be applied in green shipping. The central research question evaluates health and OSH risks of BSR inhabitants and seafarers to determine the extent to which the SECA regulations have helped to improve health and work related conditions in the BSR.

Highlights

Scientific studies show that air pollution from international shipping accounts for approximately 50,000 premature deaths every year in Europe (CEEH, 2011), which totals an annual social cost of over €58 billion (Underwood & Waterson, 2013)
Ship emissions contribute to air pollution through sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) as well as from fine particles, usually called particulate matter (PM), and black carbon causing negative health impacts of citizens
At the end of 2015, European Union approved in the frame of the BSR Interreg Programme the "EnviSuM (Environmental Impact of Low Emission Shipping Measurements and Modelling Strategies) project" to assess the technical efficiency and the socio-economic impacts of clean shipping solutions in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR)

Summary

Introduction

Scientific studies show that air pollution from international shipping accounts for approximately 50,000 premature deaths every year in Europe (CEEH, 2011), which totals an annual social cost of over €58 billion (Underwood & Waterson, 2013). At the end of 2015, European Union approved in the frame of the BSR Interreg Programme the "EnviSuM (Environmental Impact of Low Emission Shipping Measurements and Modelling Strategies) project" to assess the technical efficiency and the socio-economic impacts of clean shipping solutions in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). After three years of the project activities, some of the published results of the socio-economic impacts of the regulation focused majorly on emission measurements, the efficiency of abatement technologies and economic impacts of SECA regulations on the maritime stakeholders (Atari et al, 2019; Olaniyi, Atari & Prause, 2018)

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