Our Commitment
OOCL is committed to respecting aquatic biodiversity. We comply with mandatory requirements and join voluntary programmes to minimise the impacts of our operations on marine biodiversity, especially on critical biodiversity, if the impacts are unavoidable due to our business nature. Marine biodiversity risks are inherent to OOCL’s services, and the Company is devoted to actively understand and avoid such issues. Biodiversity risk is considered part of potential corporate ESG risks. Throughout our operations across our value chain, we are committed to avoiding damage to sites and adjacent area with important biodiversity. Relevant material biodiversity risks are integrated into our multi-disciplinary, company-wide risk management framework and are addressed by appropriate parties when necessary, ensuring a proactive and structured approach to sustainability and risk governance.
A Marine Biodiversity Assessment was carried out to identify potential risks in all of our business activities and operations as well as the surrounding areas, and explore the corresponding environmental measures to minimise our impacts on marine biodiversity. Integrating all researched information and data, the assessment would construct a risk assessment matrix by considering the likelihood and severity of different risks. From the assessment results of all of our vessel operations, it is concluded that the marine environment is exposed to potential risks/impacts associated with ballast water, oil spillage, marine plastic and marine waste. Some of our undertaken management approaches and control measures to mitigate the identified significant biodiversity impacts are listed below.
While our impact of onshore operations on biodiversity may seem negligible compared to the vessel operations, OOCL is committed to no deforestation and engages in conservation activities for biodiversity on land when seemed suitable. In addition, our Group proactively takes part in ecosystem restoration project such as tree planting and replanting of coral and mangrove.
Collaborating with external parties such as NGOs like WWF, port authorities, and local communities is one main way to live up with our commitment and not only generate No Net Loss (NNL) impacts, but even Net Positive Impact (NPI) on biodiversity. OOCL continually invests in environmentally friendly equipment such as ballast water treatment systems, and uses sustainable materials, such as non-toxic paint, bio-degradable stern tube oil and eco-friendly bamboo floors instead of the traditional hardwood, to help protect marine environment and forests.
In order to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set out by the UN, we are committed to taking actions and formulating the relevant initiatives to protect the aquatic biodiversity and marine environment.
Minimising Hazardous Materials
We adopted different measures to minimise the use of some industrial materials that may potentially lead to biodiversity and marine environment degradation:
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Painting all our ships with tribulytin free paint (TBT-free) that are also both tin and copper-free;
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Requiring all new buildings being fitted with silicone-based foul release paint; and
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Adopting The Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) to identify all hazardous and potentially hazardous material onboard during ship recycling.
Managing Ballast Water
All ships discharge ballast water, which can contain organisms that are harmful to the environment. The following programmes were introduced to help lessen the harm to the marine environment:
Ballast water exchange procedures
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We have a policy of exchanging ballast water only in the open sea (200 nautical miles away from the nearest coastline) and aim to achieve zero ballast water exchange when berthed at the port. |
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Ballast Water Treatment |
In 2004, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediment (BWM Convention) which specifies a set of criteria for the treatment process to make sure at least 99.9% of all living organisms carried in ballast water are killed or removed before being discharged. OOCL has been actively exploring different kinds of technologies to effectively treat ballast water that is in line with our SSE policy. |
Marine Species Protection
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OOCL supports the industry best practices to curb the trade of endangered and protected marine species. We announced that bookings for whale, shark, dolphin, and their related products will not be accepted. This policy shows our commitment and best practices in supporting the global effort to curb the trade in at-risk, endangered and protected marine species.
To align with our SDG goals, we set a target to participate and initiate over 100 marine life protection and conservation causes, activities, and programs by 2030, with every Region where OOCL has presence to have been involved in initiative related to Life below Water.
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