New hull cleaning rules to strengthen Port of Tallinn green status

Striving to be more eco-friendly, Estonian Port of Tallinn has established new rules of cleaning and other procedures on ships’ hulls underwater surfaces which can be carried out only with the permission of the Vessel Traffic Shift Manager.

The move is part of a strategy aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the port and ships staying there.

The new rules can in their premises be conducted only when all hull cleaning residue is collected, starting from May.

The operator in charge of the service is Finland-based DG Diving Group, according to the statement.

The company uses patented technology to clean the ships with the help of specialized divers and is currently developing a hull cleaning machine that does not require divers.

The residue consisting of both bio- and chemical materials, is collected in a tank on shore and the filtered water is let back to the sea.

“The ships need the hull cleaning depending on the season 1-2 times per month to prevent too large quantities biological particles attaching to the underwater part. This enables the ships to be the most efficient in terms of fuel usage and speed as well as keep the hull overall well maintained,” Mika Rouhola from DG Diving Group pointed out.

The patented technological solution has already been used at several Finnish and Swedish ports. It also follows IMO and HELCOM guidelines as well as the environmental requirements of Swedish authorities.

In January, Port of Tallinn announced its sustainable activity plan which focuses on decreasing the environmental impact of the port and ships.

As explained, an important complement to the strategy is the deeper integration of the principles of sustainable development and long-term goals into three areas — the environment, the economy and social responsibility.

The first step was to map the ecological footprint of the Port of Tallinn Group, i.e. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the company’s harbors and ships, based on 2019 data.

The most important goal in the environmental field of sustainable development is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.