Finnish shipping companies´ views on MARPOL Annexes

Abstract

The objective was to find out what the MARPOL Annexes (The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) are and how they effect maritime operations and environmental protection. Views of Finnish shipping companies to the Annexes were also asked. Research questions were: 1. Is it economically viable for shipowners to comply with the annexes? 2. Does conservation of the natural ecosystem pay itself back in the grand scheme of things? 3. Are authorities able to enforce the regulations efficiently? 4. Are the annexes too lenient or too stringent? This is a descriptive study. A literature review concerning the MARPOL Annexes in their relation to environmental protection was conducted, then combined to quantitative research. A questionnaire was sent to 17 Finnish shipping companies. Due to the limited number of respondents (5/17) the answers to the questionnaire can´t be generalized. Our analysis showed that complying with the Annexes is viable for the shipowners and conservation of the natural ecosystem pays itself back. Not all perspectives were covered in this study though. Our analysis also showed that authorities are not able to enforce the regulations efficiently. The question about the stringency of annexes is challenging and multidimensional. The respondents didn´t find the Annexes too stringent, in general.