New prohibitions on ship wastewater discharges in Finland’s territorial waters will enter into force gradually starting from 1 July 2025. The prohibitions apply to discharges of Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS; later scrubbers) discharge water, treated sewage and greywater. The goal is to reduce discharges of eutrophicating and harmful substances into the sea.
Gradual implementation of new wastewater discharge prohibitions in Finland's territorial waters
Amendments to the Act on Environmental Protection in Maritime Transport include wastewater discharge prohibitions for ships in Finland´s territorial waters. The prohibitions will enter into force as follows:
Starting from 1 July 2025
- The discharge of discharge water from open-loop scrubbers
- The discharge of treated sewage
The discharge prohibition on treated sewage applies to ships with a gross tonnage of at least 400 or smaller ships capable of carrying at least 15 people.
Starting from 1 January 2029
- The discharge of discharge water from closed-loop scrubbers
Starting from 1 January 2030
- The discharge of greywater
Greywater means water from showers, washing machines and kitchens.
Ships must be able to demonstrate, through entries in the engine logbook or other ship logbook, that the ship’s outboard valve is closed when entering Finland’s territorial waters, no later than at the boundary of territorial waters.
In domestic traffic, ships must keep the outboard valve closed for the entire sea voyage while operating within Finnish waters. Additionally, if a ship has discharged greywater at a port, entries must be made in the engine logbook or other ship logbook of when and where the greywater was discharged in a Finnish port, as well as the amount of greywater discharged.
A transition period for the greywater discharge prohibition has been provided until 1 January 2030 in order to allow ships to make necessary technical and structural modifications, such as installing sufficient tanks and discharge lines.
The discharge prohibition on greywater applies to ships with a gross tonnage of at least 400 or smaller ships capable of carrying at least 15 people and with a hull length exceeding 24 meters.
Harmonized regulations in the Baltic Sea region
Discharge prohibitions on scrubber discharge water will also enter into force in Sweden’s and Denmark's territorial waters to ensure regulatory uniformity across the Baltic Sea region. The timeline is the same, except for Denmark’s prohibition on discharges from closed-loop scrubbers, which will enter into force on 1 July 2029.