BALTIC SEAENVIRONMENT PROCEEDINGS No. 59 - Helcom

a free of charge system.
Application of the fee system means that the ship (or
consignor) directly has to pay for disposal of the wastes it
generates. The fee system is based on a charge per lot or per
ton of waste. Charges may be further differentiated for
specific categories of wastes, depending on the treatment
required.
If private companies offer services to collect and/or process
wastes, these companies should also have a duty to receive the
wastes delivered by ships, to avoid that only the most
profitable wastes are accepted.
A fee system always provides some disincentive to ships, and
it may induce illegal discharge. A positive aspect may be,
that waste minimization practices on board are stimulated. A
mechanism to control the fees for waste reception and
processing may be necessary. For instance, in smaller ports
lack of competition between entrepreneurs may result in
monopolies and therefore in unacceptable prices for the
services provided. On the other hand, prices must be such that
waste reception and processing is a viable business.
Involvement of (governmental) authorities in the operational
phase is mainly restricted to extensive monitoring and
enforcement which is required for successful application of
this cost recovery mechanism:
to prevent ships from discharging their wastes in
open sea (not delivering waste in a port saves
expenses);
to ensure that reception facilities and treatment
plants comply with applicable environmental
standards.
The effect of a fee system on inter-port competition will
depend on the actual charges that are made and the efficiency
of the services provided. If there is a legal requirement for
ships to deliver all their wastes, the control of charges
becomes more critical. However, more important than the actual
charges may be the effect the reception facilities have on the
turn-around time in the port.
Theoretically, this cost recovery mechanism should stimulate
waste reducing measures on board. However, there is no
practical evidence that supports this assumption.
Costs of disposal can also be included in port dues. A
surcharge may be added to the existing port dues and tariffs,
or alternatively an explicit new component of the tariff
system may be introduced. The charges can be differentiated
for particular ship categories, which can be based for example
on ship type and engine power (when e.g. oily wastes are
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