Waste-Water
runs Blue.

 
All the countries on the Baltic have agreed that from the year 2021 all cruise ships – new ships from as early as 2019 indeed – must dispose of all their waste-water in port or respectively can only do so on board of the ship when regulatory standards are adhered to. At the Ostseekai, disposing waste-water has already been possible since 2007 and even longer at the ferry terminals. However, there are ships in the cruise industry these days that host passenger numbers of the size of entire villages, of which the Ostseekai welcomes two at a time quite frequently. The amount of waste-water rises proportionately. 200 cubic metre/hour per ship are requested, exceeding the hitherto existing reception capacity by far. In comparison: a pool with a length of 25 metre holds approx. 900 cubic metre of water. A new solution had to be found. The company Unitechnics proved to be an innovative partner. Together with them PORT OF KIEL carried out extensive tests, identified the best process for treating the sewage of cruise ships and created new standards. Next to the volume of wastewater and the adaption of the pH-value to the local sewage system the odourless drainage was an important requirement – on the terminal as well as on the way to the sewage plant.

PORT OF KIEL has been investing in a cleaner Baltic Sea. This capacity increase is Kiel’s contribution to marine protection and meets regulatory requirements which are not even due to take effect until 2021. Germany‘s most modern ship waste-water reception facility went into operation in Kiel in June 2017.

Chart: PORT OF KIEL

 

How it works
Several hundred metres of pressure resistant pipes with eight junction points, have been laid parallel to the ship berths. The pipes flow into storage containers, located north of the terminal, which are fitted with waste-water analytical and treatment technology. By using compressed air and adding ozone the water is aerated in big pipes. The generated exhaust air which has been cleaned and filtered from hydrosulphide is eventually so pure and odourless that it can be discharged through a chimney. The treated ship waste-water is finally pumped into compressed air pipes newly laid below the adjacent street and leading to the municipal delivery point. From there it is fed to the city sewage plant in Bülk and cleaned. Now, 300 cubic metre of waste-water can be disposed of per hour at the Ostseekai. The first ships to take advantage of the new waste-water reception facility were “Mein Schiff 3” and “Mein Schiff 6” of TUI Cruises. In 2017 already 15,200 cubic metres of ship waste-water were discharged here.

The facility of about 1.8 million Euro serves as an example and was subsidised by the State of Schleswig-Holstein. Read more ...

By the way: The waste-water treatment facility at Kiel’s Ostseekai has been nominated by the Baltic Ports Organization (BPO) for the Baltic Sea Award 2018.