Protection of the Marine Environment - Case Study Example

Name: University: Instructor: Date: Protection of the marine environment 1.0Abstract Valuing the marine environment is an essential facet of work that Maersk Line is concerned with. Every shipping company must be committed through its Environmental Protection Policy to incessant endeavors so as to enhance environmental performance in every area needed towards an environment that is cleaner. Maersk is evidently committed to: prevention of pollution that put emphasis on reduction of source, which consist of human and financial resources essential to successfully maintain all onboard components, equipments, and systems found on the ship as potential sources of waste. Besides that, is committed to ensure permanent decline of environmental risks, information sharing about environmental performance with stakeholders, and making sure that the Policy is accessible to the community. In addition, Maersk has successfully executed the Company’s improved environmental standards and has made sure there are no deviations from these procedures. The report seeks to summarize the Maersk Line's policy on environmental protections, including the measures taken aboard the company’s ship to minimize the risk of pollution. The report will further investigate and list the main international regulations that aim to control and protect the marine environment. 2.0 Introduction As a global container shipping company, Maersk has an enormous economic footprint, and most importantly the company is energy-efficient. Maersk Line aspire to reduce its environmental effects considerably, innovating and enhancing its way towards lesser emission of CO2, cleaner air as well as water, and more dependable vessels’ lifecycle management. The Maersk Line's environmental protection policy is executed by means of the company system for environmental management. This system guarantees a consistent approach to environmental compliance as well as improvements, which is accomplished by recognizing environmental setbacks, setting enhancements targets, action strategies preparation, executing, examination and analysis. At Maersk, the company has confidence in sustainability, and it funds projects that encourage environmental accountability (Maersk-Line). Abiding by environmental legislation is clearly imperative, but Maersk aspire for more than just acquiescence. 3.0 Methods of Investigation The technique method used in this report is the Document Analysis method, which involved analyzing accessible information, documentations, records, and procedure manuals employed for the Maersk system. Document analysis method was preferred for the reason that is a valuable way to investigate; strategic planning as well as decision making, allocation of resource, and library policy as well as alignment of outcomes. What’s more, document analysis overcomes the challenges of supporting users’ involvement and is the cheapest than other investigation method. 4.0 Findings or Results Evidently, innovation has turn out to be a fundamental element in Maersk environmental plan, since the company heavily concentrates on energy efficiency. For this reason, the company’s endeavor to reduce consumption of energy is yielding environmental benefits. By making use of less fuel, energy has managed to reduce its CO2 as well as other air emissions, like Sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). This has evidently lessened the company’s environmental footprint and, openly, the overheads, which will eventually benefit both the company and clients. Besides the company’s fleet-wide program for environmental management, each of its vessels carries out a yearly environmental impact examination and lays down vessel-specific goals for improvements of the environment. These goals as well as accomplishments consist of waste separation, initiatives for energy reduction, and recycling programs. Akin to the customers, Maersk holds the view that a successful system for environmental management will result in significant environmental business. Additionally, Maersk Line works with several international companies to assist in protecting the environment. For instance, Maersk works with Clean Cargo Working Group, which a group of carriers as well as shippers devoted to sustainable transportation of the cargos by ocean. Statistically, CO2 emissions by Maersk Line decreased by 4.6 percent in 2010, and the company target reduction of 25 percent in CO2 emissions from chartered and owner vessels by 2020. The company’s sustainability strategy promises to decrease Sulphur oxides emissions considerably, and by bringing in novel technologies, boosting fuel efficiency by taking innovative measures, and maintaining a contemporary fleet, Maersk Line attained substantial reductions in levels of emission. Still, resolving the environmental setbacks of the world are not something one industry or company can accomplish single-handedly, and that is why Maersk engage with several international organizations that strive to protect the environment. 5.0 Discussions Maersk is evidently devoted to reducing the impacts of its business undertakings and the vessel operations on the marine environment by means of mitigation of pollution as well as natural resource depletion. The company is working towards an incessant force to lessen CO2 emissions; liable consumption and discarding of resources as well as preventing marine environment damage brought about the company’s vessels. Hitherto, Maersk has achieved its target of reducing emissions by 25%, and it has at the moment upped its emission reduction to 40% by 2020 (Maersk-Line). Maersk Line's policy on environmental protections needs the company to reduce its environmental impact by means of constant care; specifically careful utilisation of resources, operations optimization, and management of waste streams. The policy also highlights the company’s aspiration for improvements in its pollution prevention as well as environmental performance, and this can be achieved through honesty, environmental awareness, as well as the use of technologies that are environmentally-friendly.. Basically, offshore production of oil and gas can have an effect on the environment in diverse ways; for instance, offshore energy supplies are usually offered through natural gas combustion, which leads to air emissions. In this regard, Maersk support projects that encourage environmental accountability and the company always comply with the environmental legislation. Some of the main international regulations that aim to control and protect the marine environment, and which Maersk follow include; MARPOL 73/78, which provide international regulation for pollution prevention from Ships, the 1996 Protocol, which provides regulations to prevent marine pollution through discarding of wastes as well as other stuff, and International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships. Besides the aforementioned regulation, Maersk fully supports the he Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, and so the company intends to securely recycle every ship it owns after they stop offering services. The company’s policy for ship recycling needs the company to only make use of recycling facilities, whose employees are trained adequately and where the needed procedures for health and safety are implemented. Such procedures entail thoroughly inspecting every ship before being delivered to the work area, carrying out a radiation inspection, inspecting materials that are hazardous and marking parts that need exceptional care when dismantling. With the novel Triple-E class ships, the company intends to realize 90 percent recyclability. The new Triple-E vessels, are expected to set a fresh energy efficiency standard. According to Maersk Sustainability Progress Update, the company endures setbacks while tightening regulation of Sox emissions that will need vessels sailing in purported Emission Control Areas to change to cleaner and as a consequence more costly fuels from next year January (Maersk-Line). Besides that, the company admits that air emissions are a severe setback in shipping industry, and so the company supports the existing international regulation to overcome this major setback. Still, Maersk is worried about the cost of espousing novel international regulations with regard to marine environment protection, and with no suitable implementation, a number of shipping companies might be enticed to use shortcuts. This as a result, will wear down the environmental improvements as well as generate a business drawback for those like Maersk that follow the marine environment rules. 6.0 Conclusion In conclusion, it has been argued that shipping is an extremely positive and powerful force, making a crucial contribution to international trade as well as affluence in a manner that has only a somewhat small harmful impact on the marine environment. The shipping environmental impact consists of oil as well as acoustic pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. The study has reviewed Maersk Line’s policy on marine environmental protections, and it is evident that the company abides by all international regulations for protecting marine environment. The company policy 7.0 Recommendation In this regard, some steps must be pursued to realize the marine pollution reduction; first of all, the government must support voluntary air emission reduction by means of incentives, which includes financial support. In this case, to create a zone of low emission, companies like Maersk which abide by the marine emission regulations must be supported financially whereas those that fail to abide by the regulations must be penalized. At last, the objective of setting up an established emission control area must be accomplished. Furthermore, Maersk must espouse the International Maritime Organization (IMO) guidelines, which offer a number of convenient measures to decrease shipping noise, beginning with the propeller, which is arguably the key source of undersea noise. So an excellent maintenance of the propeller as well as wake flow design (to facilitate the flow of devoid of turbulence) in the region of the ship’s hull can assist Maersk to lessen this noise source. Obviously, this is simpler to design into new ships, but the company can implement a number of measures for existing vessels. Maersk must as well understand that for nearly all vessels, moving slower as well reduces noise pollution considerably. Besides that, scores of ship operators have recently put into service ‘slow steaming’ to decrease costs of fuel by going slower. Besides that, Maersk should realize that incorporating a speed limit on freight vessels as they cruise close to coastlines as well as ports can reduce their air pollutants emission by almost 70%; thus, lessening the environmental impact of marine shipping. 8.0 Work Cited Maersk-Line. Constant care for the environment. 2013. 5 June 2014. . Read More