Working Group on Shipping Impacts in the Marine Environment (WGSHIP; outputs from 2024 meeting)

The shipping industry is the backbone of the global economy, transporting people and goods around the world. A ship is a floating industrial site with environmental impacts that are under active management as well as lesser-known pressures in need of research and management. Methods for holistic management are urgently needed to balance the benefits of the industry with environmental impacts.

The Working Group on Shipping Impacts in the Marine Environment (WGSHIP) draws upon multidisciplinary knowledge to consider the impacts of shipping on the marine environment. WGSHIP continues to develop and apply a holistic framework summarizing the pressures and effects of shipping, which can be used to support cumulative effects assessment and integrated marine management. Each term, the members of WGSHIP complete a spreadsheet reporting template to collect data on recent and ongoing relevant research activities, with more than 80 activities from ten countries reported to date. Antifouling paints, atmospheric deposition, accidents, and noise were the most commonly studied topics; the most common pressure subcategory of interest was nonindigenous species, metals, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminants, acidifying substances, and nutrients. The most commonly applied assessment types in the reported research activities were environmental policy, followed by mitigation measures, impact assessment and risk assessment. Exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) and underwater noise continue to be a focus for WGSHIP members, with increasing interest in anchorages and discharges of grey water. In addition, a number of emerging shipping-related pressures have been identified by WGSHIP experts: plastic debris, turbulent mixing, vessel strikes, alternative fuels, tank cleaning residues, and the potential of incorporating these parameters in Environmental, Society and Governance (ESG) ratings. The group identified the need for holistic assessment of shipping pressures and as a result, submitted a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal on the mitigation options for noise and the associated benefits and trade-offs incurred in other shipping-related stressors, such as vessel strikes and invasive species transport. In collaboration with WGBOSV (Joint ICES/IOC/IMO Working Group on Ballast and Other Ship Vectors), WGSHIP proposed and chaired a shipping-related theme session at the 2022 ICES Annual Science Conference and members of WGSHIP presented research at the 3rd International Shipping and Environment Conference in 2023.