A ban on discharging of wastewater from cargo ships into Finland's territorial waters entered into force on Tuesday, July 1.
The ban, which was first announced by the Finnish Parliament in December 2024, will come into force gradually, local non-profit the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) has confirmed.
BSAG said the first phase of the ban will cover discharges of sewage and open-circuit scrubber wastewater.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) had commissioned a study that ultimately provided additional information on the supposed performance deficiencies of cargo ship effluent treatment facilities. Traficom then recommended the imposition of the discharge bans to the country's parliament.
Cargo ships have been allowed to discharge untreated sewage 22 kilometres from the nearest shore and treated sewage up to five kilometres from the nearest shore.
From July 1, 2025, however, no more sewage or wastewater from open-circuit scrubbers may be discharged into the sea in Finnish territorial waters, while the discharge of wastewater from closed-loop sulphur scrubbers into the sea will be banned from January 1, 2029.
The discharge of grey water into the sea will be banned from the beginning of 2030.