On September 8, 2021, representatives of the Far Eastern Basin Branch of FSUE "Rosmorport" took part in a round table meeting on cleaning water area of the seaport of Vladivostok.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Primorsky Krai, the Vladivostok Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor's Office, the Duma of Vladivostok, the Captain's Service of the Seaport of Vladivostok, the Union of Water Users of the Amur Basin District, as well as representatives of operators of maritime terminals.

All participants noted the active anthropogenic impact on the water area of ​the seaport of Vladivostok and, in particular, on the water area of the Zolotoy Rog Bay and Diomid Bay. It is necessary to adopt a set of organizational and technical measures in order to eliminate accumulated environmental damage.

Alexander Suchkov, chief engineer of the Far Eastern Basin Branch, informed the meeting participants on the measures being implemented by the enterprise in order to prevent pollution in the water area of the seaport of Vladivostok. For instance, an operational headquarters for a constant response was created on the basis of the dispatch service and the environmental safety service of the Far Eastern Basin Branch. Messages on the accumulation of floating debris in the water area of the seaport arrive at the branch dispatch room. Upon receiving an application, oil garbage disposal vessels of the branch immediately follow to the garbage collection site to clean surface of the water area.

During his speech, Alexander Suchkov noted the current problem being that operators of maritime terminals operating in the seaport of Vladivostok gradually refuse to use services which attract oil garbage disposal vessels to clean surface water bodies used from floating debris. The capabilities of the port fleet of oil garbage disposal vessels, which is able to fully clean floating debris in the water area of the seaport of Vladivostok, are not used in full. These trends are due to the changes in the Water Code of the Russian Federation which release operators from the obligation to issue permits for the use of surface water bodies for the purposes of maritime transport. As a result, volume of drifting floating debris, in some cases contaminated with oil products, is increasing in the water area of the seaport of Vladivostok. According to the branch, the necessary measures should be taken in this direction in order to form a regulatory framework establishing the obligations and responsibilities of economic entities - water users for timely cleaning of used surface bodies from floating debris.

Following the meeting, the participants decided to prepare proposals to form a package of amendments to federal legislation aimed at increasing the responsibility of water users in the water area of seaports and related areas for the sanitary and environmental state of the water bodies they use.