BALTIC SEAENVIRONMENT PROCEEDINGS No. 59 - Helcom

facility as it is a primary means of producing an effluent of
required purity for reception facilities and for ensuring that
ultimate disposal of residues, mixtures and all types of waste
is environmentally safe.
Adequacy at a regional level
The definitions given in the previous paragraph all refer to
adequacy at a port level. Each Contracting Party has the duty
to ensure that the ports and terminals under its jurisdiction
comply with reception facility requirements of the Convention.
At a regional level the term adequacy also plays an important
role.
When ships can dispose of their wastes only in a few ports in
a region, this will either mean that these ports carry the
burden for the whole region (i.e. receiving wastes that should
have been disposed of in other ports) or (even more likely)
that ships are more inclined to dispose of their wastes
illegally. If the area is designated as a Special Area, a lack
of adequate reception facilities in a few ports has even
greater implications.
When a particular sea area is designated as a Special Area for
one or more Annexes, ships have little or no possibility left
to dispose of their wastes at sea. This means that ports
within a Special Area have a special responsibility to ensure
the provision of adequate reception facilities in all ports to
receive these wastes. The Special Area status cannot come into
effect until there is a sufficient number of reception
facilities available in that area.
Only a few Special Areas have come into effect, due to the
necessity for reception facilities. One of the reasons for
this is that with the entry into force of MARPOL 73/78 and the
implementation of measures to reduce the generation on board
of wastes, many States were reluctant to invest in facilities
which might be fully utilized only for a limited period. While
it is certainly the case that waste minimization on board
progresses steadily, it is also true that there is a general
trend to make the discharge standards for ships stricter than
they were sofar.
When ships are less and less allowed to discharge their wastes
into the marine environment, they will have to rely more than
ever before on reception facilities.
For a Special Area to come into effect, a concerted effort is
required from all Governments of States bordering such an area
to ensure that their ports do provide adequate reception
facilities.
Technical cooperation
Article 17 of the Convention addresses the promotion of
technical co-operation. The Parties to the Convention shall
promote, in consultation with the Organization and other
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