Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Amendment) Bill

Order for Second Reading read.

1.23 pm

The Second Minister for Transport (Mr Ng Chee Meng): Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This Bill seeks to amend the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act, to give effect to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments.

Ballast water is water that is taken on board ships to provide balance and stability to ships. The discharge of ballast water from ships is one of the principal ways potentially invasive alien marine species are introduced into marine environments. The environmental and economic damage caused by invasive species can be substantial. The Convention seeks to prevent the transfer of harmful marine species and pathogens from one marine environment to another. This is done by establishing standards and procedures for the management of ships' ballast water and sediments.

The Convention places restrictions on the uptake and discharge of ballast water by ships and mandates the safe disposal of sediments. It was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in February 2004 and will be entering into force in September 2017. As a responsible Flag State and Port State committed to marine environment protection and sustainable shipping, Singapore will accede to the Convention. The proposed Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Amendment) Bill 2017 enables Singapore to comply with the Convention.

Let me highlight the key provisions of the Bill. Mr Louis Ng has also separately mentioned to me just now that he supports the Bill. He also shared some feedback on the penalties and exemptions in the Bill which I will talk about shortly.

Clause 6 prohibits the discharge of sediments into Singapore waters, from any place on land, or from any apparatus used for transferring sediments from or to any ship.

Clause 9 prohibits the discharge of untreated ballast water or sediments into Singapore waters from any ship, or from a Singapore ship into any sea. Clause 9 also empowers the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) to make regulations to exempt ships from the prohibition against discharge of ballast water and sediments into our waters.

Mr Louis Ng asked me about how and when such exemptions will be given. One possible exemption could be for ships that operate exclusively within a specified area, if the risk of transfer of invasive species through the discharge of their ballast water is deemed acceptable based on IMO's risk assessment guidelines.

Clauses 5, 7 and 8 revise the penalties for the discharge of pollutants, garbage and noxious liquid substances into our waters. With the revision, the limit of fines is increased from $10,000 to $20,000, and the period of imprisonment is reduced from two years to six months. The increase in fines ensures that the financial penalty continues to serve as an effective deterrent against pollution. The reduced jail term avoids unduly penalising seafarers for pollution-related offences committed during their course of work. In this aspect, MPA's experience has been that pollution-related offences are more often a result of shipboard conditions arising from the actions of the employers, than that it is due to individual seafarers acting on their own accord. The penalties for the discharge of untreated ballast water or sediments are aligned with the revised penalties for the discharge of pollutants, garbage and noxious liquid substances into our waters.

Clause 10 increases the financial penalty limits for contraventions of regulations relating to the provision of reception facilities. The maximum jail term has also been retained. Under the Convention, terminals, including shipyards, that provide ballast tank repair, cleaning or retrofitting services, should provide for the reception of sediments from ships. The higher penalties that may be levied on reception facilities reflect the severity of the damage to the environment that their contraventions may cause.

Clause 11 empowers MPA to make regulations requiring Singapore-flagged ships and ships in Singapore waters to carry ballast water record books on board.

Clause 13 imposes a duty on land occupiers or persons in charge of apparatus for transferring sediments from which sediments have been discharged into Singapore waters, to report such discharge.

Clause 16 amends section 34 of the Act to empower MPA, with the approval of the Minister, to make regulations to give effect to the Convention.

The shipping industry has been consulted and they are supportive of the Bill.

Mdm Speaker, this Bill enables Singapore to fulfil our obligations under the Convention as a responsible member of the international maritime community. Mdm Speaker, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mdm Speaker: Mr Dennis Tan.

1.28 pm

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Non-Constituency Member): Madam, by this proposed Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Amendment) Bill, the Government intends to ratify and bring into force the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004.

Ships have been using sea water as a ballast to stabilise ships at sea for more than a hundred years. Sea water is pumped into or out of ships to achieve safe and desirable operating conditions for the ships. It helps the ships to maintain stability and enhances manoeuvrability, especially when the sea conditions or the volume of cargo, fuel or water onboard a ship may change in the course of each voyage. Stress on the ship's hull may also be reduced accordingly with the use of ballast water.

A ship may take in seawater for ballast at a particular location and discharge the same water at a different part of the world. What this means is that the ship will unwittingly transport all micro-organisms and marine species in the sea water from one part of the world to another part of the world. Such species may include microbes, bacteria, small invertebrates, larvae, eggs and cysts of different species. Frequently, some of such species may survive and reproduce in the new environment where they have been discharged, compete with the local species and becoming effectively pests in the new environment and affecting the new environment in an adverse way.

As the volume of sea traffic grew with the rise of international trade over the last 50 years, the environmental impact of the invasive species caused by the discharged ballast water has started to pose serious ecological, economic and health issues. This is the backdrop for the introduction of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments even back in 2004. The Ballast Water Convention introduces global regulations to control the transfer of potentially invasive species. Under the Convention, ballast water will need to be treated before it is released into a new location so that any micro-organism or small marine species are eliminated before the ballast water is discharged into the open marine environment again.

Under the Ballast Water Convention, all ships must install appropriate ballast water treatment systems. Ships must have a ballast water record book, recording the occasions when ballast water is taken onboard or treated for ballast water management purposes, discharged into a reception facility as well as any accidental discharges of ballast water. The aim is to prevent, minimise and, ultimately, eliminate the transfer of harmful organisms and pathogens through the control and management of ships ballast water sediments.

As Singapore is one of the busiest ports in the world and sits by one of the busiest sea channels in the world, we have many vessels coming into our port waters or passaging through nearby seas. The risk of invasive species causing ecological damage to our seas and marine environment cannot be discounted.

Madam, this is one reason I support this Bill. Another reason that I support this Bill is because Singapore is among one of the top five ship registries in the world and has over 4,000 ships under its registry. The operation of our system, our Singapore flagship, does not affect only our Singapore waters but also affects the seas around the world as the vessels ply the international waters.

It has taken a while for Singapore to introduce the Ballast Water Convention into our legislation. The Convention came up way back in 2004. Yes, it will only come into force worldwide on 8 September 2017. But given the environmental concerns we have heard and given the fact that we are one of the busiest ports in the world, one of the five largest ship registries in the world and one of the leading maritime hubs in the world, if the Government is of the view that such convention is the right way forward, then perhaps we should have ratified the Convention earlier. In contrast, by way of examples, countries like Malaysia ratified the Convention in 2010 and Australia and Indonesia in 2016.

Madam, on the issue of maximum penalties listed under the different provisions of this amendment Bill, I know some of the sentences have been increased but I still have some concerns whether they are adequate, especially fines on shipowners. Madam, I support the Bill.

Mdm Speaker: Second Minister Ng Chee Meng.

1.33 pm

Mr Ng Chee Meng: I thank the Member Mr Dennis Tan for his clarifications and support for the Bill.

Mr Dennis Tan asked about the adequacy of penalties and whether Singapore should have acceded to the Ballast Water Management Convention earlier.

I have spoken earlier about the penalties set out in the Bill. But let me add that we recognise that ballast water discharges can have a significant impact on the environment. As such, the proposed penalties are commensurate with other existing environmental pollution-related offences. So, the whole set of laws is aligned and the professionals have said that these are adequate. We can always monitor and see whether they are an adequate deterrent. At the moment, as I said just now, $10,000 has been increased to $20,000, and that is a 100% increase.

On whether Singapore should have acceded to the Convention earlier, let me explain our considerations. Singapore takes the protection of marine environment very seriously. We have ratified every major IMO Convention relating to the prevention of pollution from ships, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. As the Member has noted, Singapore has also been an early supporter of the Ballast Water Management Convention.

However, Singapore always ensures that we are able to discharge our obligations before acceding to any new convention. Hence, rather than rush into acceding to this Convention, Singapore has been working with IMO and the industry to address outstanding implementation issues that the industry has raised.

One of the main concerns has been that the IMO's guidelines for approving ballast water management systems were not rigorous enough, such that approved systems did not consistently meet the Convention's standards for discharged ballast water. IMO, therefore, revised its guidelines to make them more robust. This process took some time and was only completed in October 2016, just last year.

Mdm Speaker, Singapore has built a reputation over the years as a responsible flag state and port state. This Bill seeks to enable us to fulfil our obligations under the Convention and continue to keep our flag flying high.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Ng Chee Meng.]

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.