Grønlandsudvalget 2023-24
L 103 Bilag 1
Offentligt
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Miljøministeriet
Departementet
Vester Voldgade 123
1552 København V
Danmark
Deres ref.:
J.nr. 2022-8837
11.04.2023
AECO høringssvar til udkast til forslag til lov om ændring af lov om beskyttelse af
havmiljøet i den eksklusive økonomiske zone ved Grønland.
AECO takker indledningsvist for fremsendelse af udkastet til lovforslag samt bilag i høring
og muligheden for at komme med kommentarer.
AECO er en international medlemssammenslutning for ekspeditionskrydstogtsoperatører
med operationer i Arktis. AECO har som formål at arbejde for at turisme i Arktis foregår
ansvarligt, med størst muligt hensyn til miljø, sikkerhed og lokalsamfund. AECO stræber
efter at sætte højest mulige operationelle standarder for vores medlemmer.
AECO støtter et generelt forbud mod anvendelse og transport af tung olie (HFO) i Arktis og
derunder Grønlands eksklusive økonomiske zone og har underskrevet The Arctic
Commitment , der er en generel opfordring til udfasning af tung olie i Arktisk shipping.
AECO støtter derfor det fremlagte udkast, der skal sikre en lovmæssig hjemmel til at
implementere vedtaget om forbud mod brug og transport af HFO som skibsbrændstof i
Arktis i den eksklusive økonomiske zone ved Grønland.
AECO har ikke yderligere kommentarer.
Venlig hilsen
Anders U. la Cour Vahl
vice direktør
Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators
Organisasjonsnummer: 986 361 901
Nettside: www.aeco.no
Postadresse: AECO
Postboks 162
9252 Tromsø
E-post: [email protected]
 L 103 - 2023-24 - Bilag 1: Høringsnotat og høringssvar, fra miljøministeren
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Miljøministeriet
Vester Voldgade 123
1552 København V
Mail:
[email protected]
og
[email protected]
11. maj 2023
Høring vedrørende forslag til lov om ændring af lov om beskyttelse af havmiljøet i den
eksklusive økonomiske zone ved Grønland, sagsnummer 2022-8837
Grønlands Erhverv har den 30. marts 2023 modtaget høring af Høring vedrørende forslag til lov om
ændring af lov om beskyttelse af havmiljøet i den eksklusive økonomiske zone ved Grønland,
sagsnummer 2022-8837, høringsfristen er sat til den 11. maj 2023.
I høringen ligges til grund for at der kommer forbud mod anvendelse af Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) som
brændstof i sejlads i Arktis og implementeringsfristen er den 1. juli 2024. Grønlands Erhverv er klar
over at forbuddet efterhånden var været undervejs et stykke tid.
Grønlands Erhverv støtter forebyggelse af forurening af havet omkring os, og siden fiskeriet har store
betydning for vores samfundsøkonomi, så skal havet omkring Grønland også beskyttes. Dermed kan vi
forsætte med at udnytte vores havressourcer til størst gavn for landet som muligt. Derfor har vi ikke
yderligere kommentar til fremsendte høringsskrivelse.
Med venlig hilsen
Bent Sørensen | Grønlands Erhverv
1
 L 103 - 2023-24 - Bilag 1: Høringsnotat og høringssvar, fra miljøministeren
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Miljøministeriet
Att.
Julie Emma Schade
Departementet
Vester Voldgade 123
1552 København V
Aalborg Universitet
Fredrik Bajers Vej 7K
Postboks 159
9220 Aalborg Øst
AAU Arctic
Carina Ren (head)
Rikke Becker Jacobsen (coordinator)
Email: [email protected]
Dato: 26-04-2023
Høring over lovforslag om ændring af lov om beskyttelse af havmiljøet i den eksklusive økonomiske
zone ved Grønland, sagsnummer 2022-8837
The proposed amendment to the Act on marine environment protection in the Danish Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) off the coast of Greenland responds to an obligation to adequately implement amendments to MARPOL
as adopted at IMO in 2021 per Resolution MEPC.329(76). The current lack of authority of the Ministry of the
Environment in this respect appears to be the sole motivation to justify this public hearing. From our perspective,
there is nothing to object to the proposed amendment, insofar as it merely attributes the Danish Environmental
Agency with competence to implement the global prohibition on the use and carriage for use as fuel of heavy fuel
oil by ships in the Arctic waters into the Danish legal order. That notwithstanding, it is important to further highlight
the provision of adequate powers to enforcement authorities, namely port state control officers.
Although coastal state authorities – namely the Ministry of Defence – has the competence to enforce the ban
within the Danish EEZ, it is rather more likely that most relevant enforcement actions will be undertaken at port
rather than at sea, namely for reasons of safety and expediency. Denmark may to this effect exercise departure
state jurisdiction at its ports over any vessel planning to call at a Greenlandic port or planning to navigate through
Arctic waters – including calling at other ports within the Arctic Ocean – and thus pre-emptively verify compliance
with the ban. Greenlandic authorities play a special role in this approach; in their assertion of port state control of
MARPOL Annex I, they may both prevent such vessels from leaving the port and they may establish conditions
of entry, denying port services and imposing adequate penalties as a deterrent. In both scenarios, jurisdiction
would be asserted regardless of the vessel’s destination or origin, since Greenlandic ports are located within
what the IMO defines as ‘Arctic waters’, and a presumption that navigation takes place therein can be established.
This approach does however require inspectors in Danish ports to have up to date training and knowledge on
the Polar Code and to prioritize inspections on ships navigating in the area where the ban is in place.
Further to that enforcement strategy, it must be noted that acting as a port state also grants Denmark a wide
margin to assert unilateral jurisdiction. A state is not barred under international law from adopting stricter envi-
ronmental standards on vessels, provided that the enforcement of such prescriptions happens upon a voluntary
call to port and not at sea. The proposed amendment on the Act should thus be seen as an opportunity for
Denmark to not only implement MARPOL’s amendments, but also to guarantee the adequate level of legal pro-
tection to its national interest with respect to marine pollution in waters under its jurisdiction. The Association of
Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators had already pledged to self-impose this ban even prior to the entry into force
of MARPOL amendments, thus demonstrating that some stakeholders are indeed capable of voluntarily acting
ahead of the IMO’s deadlines. It is therefore proposed that the Ministry of the Environment also consider the
potential of resorting to unilateral port state jurisdiction as a means to fulfil the objectives of this IMO Resolution
even before the minimum threshold of 1 July 2029 now set in MARPOL Annex I Regulation 43A(2).
Nelson F. Coelho
(Centre for Blue Governance)