the toxic truth - Greenpeace

36 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds
Chapter 3
Marine Waste Collection Netherlands (MAIN), formerly called Amsterdam Port Services (APS). APS was unable to process the
waste from the Probo Koala and increased the price for handling the waste. © Zeeman Reclame GRoep/eRwin VadeR
slops and wasTe
Trafigura has consistently referred
to the waste produced by caustic
washing of coker naphtha on board
the Probo Koala as “slops”. 94 The
term “slops” used in relation to
ships generally refers to residues
left at the bottom of the tank, which
consist mainly of oily water generated
after the ship’s tanks have
been washed between loads. The
1973/78 International Convention
for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships (MARPOL Convention) defines
a slop tank as a tank “designated for
the collection of tank drainings, tank
washings, and other oily mixtures”. 95
The unloading of such slops is a routine
procedure, and one which port
reception facilities, such as APS, are
accustomed to undertaking.
However, the waste produced on
board the Probo Koala was not the
result of washing cargo tanks; it
On 28 June, Greek-based Falcon Navigation,
the company which managed day-to-day
operations of the Probo Koala for Trafigura,
appointed a Dutch company, Bulk Maritime
Agencies (BMA), as the shipping agent for the
Probo Koala while it was in Amsterdam. This
is standard procedure. Acting in this capacity,
BMA contacted the Port of Amsterdam to
was a by-product of caustic washing
of coker naphtha, a process
which a Trafigura executive had
noted was “banned by most countries
due to the hazardous nature
of the waste (mercaptans, phenols,
smell)…” (emphasis added).
Trafigura’s used of the term “slops”
implies that the waste derives from
the normal operation of a ship, and
is therefore material covered by
the MARPOL Convention. However,
an industrial process, known to
produce hazardous waste material,
undertaken on a ship after landbased
options were exhausted,
was not envisaged by MAPROL (see
Chapter 7 for a fuller discussion on
this issue).
Following the Probo Koala incident
the International Maritime
Organization introduced a ban on
provide it with preliminary notification of the
arrival of the Probo Koala. This notification
referred to the waste on board as “MARPOL
Annex 1; oily tank washings including
cargo residues”. In another section of the
notification, the waste was described as
“washwater gasoline/caustic”. 93
blending fuels and carrying out
production processes on board
ships. The ban enters into force on
1 January 2014.
Throughout this report, Amnesty
International and Greenpeace refer
to the product of caustic washing
of coker naphtha on board the
Probo Koala as “waste”.
Slop tank: a tank “specifically
designated for the collection of
tank drainings, tank washings, and
other oily mixtures”. (Annex I of the
MARPOL Convention) 97
Wastes: as defined by the Basel
Convention: “… substances or objects
which are disposed of or are
intended to be disposed of or are
required to be disposed of by the
provisions of national law”. (Basel
Convention, Article 2(1)) 98
Ship-generated waste: “shall
mean all waste, including sewage,
and residues other than cargo residues,
which are generated during
the service of a ship and fall under
the scope of Annexes I, IV and V
to MARPOL 73/78 and cargoassociated
waste as defined in the
Guidelines for the implementation
of Annex V to MARPOL 73/78”.
(The EU Directive on Port Reception
Facilities) 99
Cargo residues: “shall mean the
remnants of any cargo material
on board in cargo holds or tanks
which remain after unloading procedures
and cleaning operations
are completed and shall include
loading/unloading excesses and
spillage”. (The EU Directive on Port
Reception Facilities)