The Deputy of Maritime Affairs of Ports and Maritime Authority of Guilan Province announced the collection of 3,000 cubic meters, equivalent to 26 tons, of waste from the water surface and bed.
According to the public relations of the Ports and Maritime Authority
of Guilan Province, Ali Khedmatgozar, referring to the problems and destructive
effects of floating waste in the sea, said: “Today, floating waste in water
sources including rivers, wetlands, seas and even coastal waters is considered
as one of the biggest environmental problems and on the other hand it can cause
irreparable damage to the maritime tourism industry and the sea-oriented
economy.”
Stating that Anzali Port basin and its shipping canal, due to its
direct connection with Anzali International Lagoon, annually receives hundreds
of tons of floating wastes that enters the lagoon through large rivers and water
currents (especially during floods of rivers, he noted: “In recent years, a sharp decrease
in the water depth of the lagoon has led to a decrease in its capacity to
accept incoming waste, as well as a significant increase in the volume of
various wastes, which unfortunately are transferred directly to its water
basin.”
The Deputy of Maritime Affairs of Ports and Maritime Authority of Guilan
Province added: "This has caused the waste of lagoon to
enter the port and shipping canal of the port and become a threat to the safety
of maritime traffic."
Referring to the main reasons for the rapid
growth of floating waste in the lagoon, Khedmatgozar stated: “A significant part of this waste
enters the protected waters of the port and the lack of awareness of the people
and stakeholders of the lagoon about environmental issues, waste disposal in
water resources and lack of optimal management of the wastes of urban and industrial
centers adjacent to the lagoon are some of the reasons of this problem.”
Regarding the existing solutions to solve the
existing challenge related to lagoon waste and environmental threats and the
lack of safety of maritime traffic resulted by it, he acknowledged that this
requires fundamental reforms in the management of municipal and industrial
wastes by regulatory bodies as well as providing necessary environmental
information to local and urban communities around the lagoon through various
media.”
The Deputy of Maritime Affairs of Ports and Maritime Authority of Guilan
Province, referring to the organizational mission and necessity
of securing traffic in the protected waterways of the Authority, stated: “In
order to eliminate the pollution caused by the waste from the lagoon and
prevent their destructive effects on the engine cooling system and the
efficiency of vessel drift, in recent years, the Ports and Maritime Authority of Guilan
Province has taken significant annual costs to continuously and
daily clean the basin and access canal of the port by using the potentials of
the private sector and equipping a scavenger vessel.”
Khedmatgozar said that this year, 3,000 cubic meters
(about 26 tons) of wastes have been collected from the surface of the water and
the bed of the port basin through dredging operations. He said: "This
volume of dredging shows the increasing growth of the volume and variety of lagoon
waste, and to improve the current situation, urgent measures must be taken by
all relevant government agencies and non-governmental organizations."