BALTIC SEAENVIRONMENT PROCEEDINGS No. 59 - Helcom

If the port fee is broken down the service of reception facilities
are charged to the vessel on a Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT)
basis through a port charge similar to "Light Dues" charges or
"Ice Breaker" charges imposed in all Danish ports and aimed at
recovering the costs for navigating aid, charting and ice breaker
assistance in winter time.
By financing the reception facilities through the port fees all
ships calling at the port take part in the financing whether they
use the reception facilities or not.
Reporting of alleged inadequacy of reception facilities
The MARPOL 73/78 as well as HELCOM contain strong obligations for
the Coastal or Port States to provide adequate reception
facilities to meet the needs of the ships calling at their ports.
If a port or a Port State do not comply with these requirements
they enforce the master of a ship to violate the discharge
requirements of MARPOL 73/78, HELCOM and probably several
national requirements also.
In such situations the master of a ship must have a possibility
to inform and report on such injustice forced on him.
By MEPC Circular 60 a format for reporting alleged inadequacy of
reception facilities for oily wastes was developed. By HELCOM
Recommendation 3/4 this format was adopted by the Baltic Sea
States. Due to international developments and the entering into
force of more annexes to the MARPOL 73/78 this Recommendation has
been superseded several times by HELCOM Recommendations 6/11, 7/9
and latest by 10/6 from 1989.
In Denmark these Recommendations have been implemented by letters
from the Danish EPA to the different Shipowners Assosiations with
a request to distribute the "new" reporting formats to shipowners
and ships under the assosiations.
The filled in formats shall be returned to the Danish EPA who
will report to IMO and HELCOM as appropriate.
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