KLASCO is consistent in investing in environmental protection
The company has purchased a new dust reducing conveyor
To reduce the impact of bulk cargoes on ambient air, Klaipėda Stevedoring Company KLASCO has acquired a new conveyor with a rotating magnet and water jets that prevent the cargo from dusting during loading. KLASCO is the first and the only stevedoring company in the port to use this type of conveyor; currently, the company uses two of them. The new conveyor cost the company 220 thousand EUR.
“We are constantly investing in environmental protection and advanced stowage technologies as they are related. The technically faster the loading operation, the less its impact on the environment. In the past, iron ore from the wagons was stacked using a forklift truck in a series of intermediate operations, while with the purchase of a new conveyor, the stacks are formed immediately. The dispatchers respond to the slightest changes in weather, because we do not want the port to cause inconvenience to the population. During May-August, no air monitoring station ever detected exceedance of the daily average concentration of particulate matter,” says Vytautas Štumbergas, the CEO of KLASCO.
The head of KLASCO points out that Klaipėda State Seaport Authority (KSSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Koris monitoring stations have been built to measure air pollution on the company’s territory. The company’s dispatchers are promptly provided with the data of the 24-hour air quality monitoring from KSSA. As of the end of August, these data are public and are available to the public on the website portofklaipėda.lt.
Once a momentary increase is recorded, stevedoring stops and all measures are taken to ensure clean loading. The data from EPA stations are made public on the website gamta.lt. KLASCO receives the processed data periodically.
Since KSSA has not responded to KLASCO’s application for the investment in the southern part of the port, where the company plans to install a specialised dry bulk terminal, KLASCO has been consistently implementing the measures to reduce the impact of the production processes on ambient air. A long-term environmental action plan has been approved by the EPA, which is constantly being informed about the measures implemented. In addition, the employees from the institutions of the Ministry of Environment are allowed to enter the production area and check the loading operations at any time of the day.
In the past few years, KLASCO has invested over one million EUR in the environmental measures and in the near future it plans to invest at least the same amount in the environment. KLASCO is the first one in the port to purchase and use 6 water fog cannons to irrigate the cargo. The staff is trained to use them depending on wind direction and other meteorological conditions. New Tukan cranes have been purchased to reduce the number of operations and ship loading times, as well as the impact of stevedoring on the harbour environment and other equipment to reduce dust emissions. KLASCO was the first company in Klaipėda port to use eco-friendly material for bulk cargo, thus avoiding environmental impact during cargo storage. The company also irrigates and cleans the streets in the residential area of Vitė street with its own means. And instead of one conveyor with magnets and jets as planned, it uses two. Rainwater from KLASCO sites is collected and run through the treatment equipment before discharging it into the lagoon. New engineering rainwater collection networks and treatment equipment are being constructed near the renovated quays 10-11.
The Company’s activities in respect of the above-mentioned technical, technological and organisational environmental measures are carried out in accordance with the national regulations. Their effectiveness is also confirmed by the data of air control research stations.