Offloading sewage

Ports of Stockholm has the capabilities to be able to accept black and grey wastewater, or in other words sewage, shower and galley wastewater. There are facilities for accepting sewage at all of the quays in Stockholm.

Vessels can offload sewage free-of-charge at all of Ports of Stockholm's seven cruise ship quay-berths. Vessels also have the possibility to offload their black and grey wastewater to tanker trucks, pontoons or boats.

Three out of four cruise ships offload their sewage when in port in Stockholm. The cruise ships however do not always offload when in port. Many have their own water purification facilities aboard the vessel. They can also store water in their tanks for longer durations so that this can be offloaded later at another port.

New regulations from 2019

The international regulations for the discharge of sewage into the Baltic Sea are more stringent from 2019 onwards for new vessels and from 2021 for existing vessels. The ban on sewage discharge means that all passenger vessels must either offload their sewage when in port or must be equipped with approved purification capabilities of a high standard.

Ferry traffic has offloaded sewage for a long time

The fixed route scheduled ferry traffic has offloaded its sewage in port since the 1980s.