Preventing Oil Spills

Ofer Shipping Group main objective is to operate ships in a safe manner while taking into consideration the impact on the environment.

Ofer Shipping Group is aware that accidental oil spills at sea may cause significant harm to the marine environment. Consequently, awareness is continuously being raised among crew and all necessary actions are taken to prevent environmental incidents.

The crew is trained in safe navigation and operation of vessels. Additionally, all operational procedures and contingency plans that deal with emergency situations are under scrutiny and are continuously being improved.

All Ofer Group vessels hold a Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP). This plan provides guidance to the Master and Officers onboard the ship with respect to the steps that should be taken in the event of a pollution incident, or its likelihood.

Antifouling Paint

Bio-fouling, or biological fouling, is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms (barnacles, algae) on submerged structures – especially ships' hulls.

Anti-fouling is the process of removing the accumulation, or preventing its accumulation. Ships' hulls are painted with anti-fouling paint in order to increase speed and reduce fuel consumption.

In the past, antifouling hull paint contained tributyltin (TBT), a toxic product.

Ofer Shipping began phasing out TBT in 2003 and the entire fleet now uses TBT-free paint; well ahead of the expected January 1st 2008 deadline for compliance of the IMO Antifouling Convention.
 

Reducing Air Emissions

Ofer Shipping Grpup prioritizes minimizing fuel consumption and air emissions.

In order to prevent the atmospheric ozone layer from depletion The Company is constantly looking for cleaner and more fuel-efficient technologies and operational measures to help maximize energy efficiency and reduce air emissions such as CO2/NOX/SOX/and Fluorocarbons.

Ballast Water Management

The discharge of ballast water from vessels can transfer organisms from different marine ecosystems, which can be harmful to the ecological balance.

All the fleet vessels are provided with a Ballast Water Management Plan, which is in line with environmental policy, and is written in accordance with IMO Resolution A.868(20): “Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ship’s ballast water to minimize the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens’’.

The plan’s intention is to provide safe and effective procedures that minimize the transfer of the harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens found in the ship’s ballast water.

Fleet vessels calling in Brazilian ports follow the class approved Ballast water management plan, this in accordance with the Brazilian regulations (NORMAM 20) and enforced since 15th October 2005. The regulations require all vessels to carry out ballast water exchange prior to entering a Brazilian port or terminal.

Waste Management

Vessel operation inevitably generates waste, particularly oily waste, sludge and sewage.
To counteract this, a waste management programme has been implemented to ensure that all types of waste are reduced and handled in a responsible manner.


Garbage Management

Each vessel has a Garbage Management Plan onboard which is incorporated into the Ship's Environmental plan. Separation of garbage is carried out on all vessels.

Garbage is always handled in compliance with regulations for the prevention of pollution by garbage from ships – Annex V of Marpol 73/78 regulations.