Pollution in our oceans and waterways is a pervasive problem, whether it's from toxic chemicals or plastic waste that can clog rivers and degrade into environmentally damaging microplastics.
We must take all steps necessary to prevent artificial products from spoiling the natural environment, and that includes busy ports or pleasure craft marinas.
The management of the historic Port des Sablons in Saint-Malo, France, developed a system to stop hull maintenance and cleaning procedures from fouling their own waters, according to an interview with Boat News.
Careening, which is the process of hull maintenance outside of the water, is an essential part of a marina's infrastructure. In France, you are not legally allowed to careen on a boat ramp while the tide is out, since this results in paints, cleaners, and other toxic chemicals washing away into the water.
Volatile organic compounds in hull paints are especially harmful to shellfish, and cleaners can contain chlorine or ammonia, which are also damaging to marine life.
Most small boat owners can't afford to use the safer dry dock services, so Dominique Bonnel, deputy director of Société Bretagne Plaisance, and Stéphane Horvais, technical manager of the Port des Sablons, found an eco-friendly midground, which could serve as a model for other French ports.
They developed a submersible careening dock in 2014 with the assistance of the Loire-Brittany Water Agency. Boats can reserve space on this ramp that angles down to the water and wait for the tides to recede. This reveals a special gutter system that collects wastewater and any harmful chemicals. This is all rinsed clean and safely sent to a processing tank before the tide returns.
As Bonnel shared in the report, they wanted to make sure this was accessible to all for environmental reasons, so it's kept free aside from a small charge to run the power washers.
This is the only part of the process that has yet to be updated to make it part of an entirely closed system. Frequent droughts and water-use regulations restrict usage, so the collected runoff will soon be processed and reused in the washers to close the loop.
"We need to think about modernizing and extending our marina to make it more eco-responsible," as Bonnel explained. "Technologies must be increasingly virtuous in terms of water consumption."
Eco-friendly initiatives like this don't come easy, however, and Bonnel shared some of the continuing hurdles in maintaining a sustainable process, stating, "It's a challenge for the harbors of tomorrow, or even today."
"How can we achieve a more eco-responsible facility in the near future? How can we encourage yachtsmen not to opt for the illegal careening prohibited by the regulations? As long as boaters use antifouling to careen or chemical products to protect their hulls, the subject will always be topical."
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