Assessment Of The Environmental Risks Associated With The Non-Implementation Of The Convention Of Ballast Water Management And Sediments (BWMS) In The Douala Port Authority

Abstract

Many researchers today are concerned about the spread or proliferation of invasive non-native species in waters and estuaries around the world. Ballast water and hull fouling (crushing) associated with maritime activities are responsible for the vast majority of accidental marine transfers of non-indigenous species worldwide (Carlton & al., 1995).the objective of this study is to assess the environmental risks associated with the intentional or unintentional discharge of ballast water as part of the activities of ships in the Autonomous Port of Douala with a view to good environmental management in accordance with the "Ballast Water Management and Sediment" convention adopted in London in 2004. The environmental risk assessment was based on the laws and regulations of the Government of the Republic of Cameroon, on international laws and on the international conventions of MARPOL and BWMS of the IMO, as well as on the sample of ships operating in Cameroonian waters. The data used for the analysis was based on visits to ships operating in the operating territory of the Autonomous Port of Douala compared with data from the Indonesian port of Inaport I. The analysis was based on the number of ships discharging ballast water in the port and IMO regulation MEPC 56/23 ANNEX 2. The quantity of ballast water discharged was measured using a statistical method to determine the probability of occurrence of the risk. Using a risk matrix, the environmental risks associated with implementing ballast water management would be ranked. The results obtained indicated that ships without cargo on an international voyage, and therefore in ballast, can carry between 25% and 35% of their deadweight in the form of ballast water to ensure trim and stability. In 2016, the number of ships using the international route in Indonesia was 30,843, while international maritime traffic at the de Douala Port Authority was estimated at 1137 in 2016, and it was assumed that deballasting by ships accounted for 60% of the number of ships, discharging around 25 tons of ballast water each time, so that the total amount of water discharged in the Indonesian port was 450,000 tons. In another approach based on ship tonnage to assess the quantities of ballast water discharged in the port of Douala, empirically we note that Douala in 2016 had landed 11042894 tons for an estimated quantity of ballast water of 2,760,723 tons