Djurgårdsbrunnsviken and the Djurgården canal have always been important to Stockholm. Up until the 18th century, it was one of the city’s fairways. To make it easier for ships to bring goods into the city and to ‘beautify’ Djurgården, the Djurgårdsbrunn Canal opened in 1834. Today, no ships are allowed on the canal, with the exception of small boats, canoes and pedal boats.
The Maritime Museum has been running a sailing school for over 50 years. The school plays a key part in protecting the sensitive marine environment at Djurgårdsbrunnsviken. One of their key tasks is pressure washing the dinghies during the summer. This is so that they can minimise the amount of bottom painting needed and thereby protect Djurgårdsbrunnsviken’s marine environment.
Bottom painting is the most common method for preventing the growth of algae and barnacles on a boat’s hull. Unfortunately, many so-called ‘environmentally-friendly’ paints also contain toxic chemicals that are harmful to the marine environment. The purpose of the paint is to continuously release substances. This causes the area around the hull to become so inhospitable that nothing is able to grow there. So, the fewer people that use the paint the better. 80% of this poisoning occurs during the summer months.
We are of course delighted that the Maritime Museum is working to help reduce pollution in the Baltic Sea!
The sailing school is helping to reduce marine pollution (14.1,2)
They promote the safe use of chemicals (12.4)
