Illustration: © MaKars / Shutterstock.com

Ship scrubbers could render UK ports unusable

According to The Independent, the global shipping industry has spent more than USD 12bn on installing scrubbers on more than 3,700 ships worldwide to comply with new environmental legislation that ends up polluting the sea instead of the air. But only 65 of these vessels have had closed-loop scrubbers installed, a technology that stores the extracted sulphur in tanks before discharging it at a safe disposal facility in a port.

The others are able to discharge the waste products, which are acidic and often contain carcinogens, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals, into the sea.

“We are worried that contaminated sediments will build up in berths and navigation channels over the long term. Contamination makes it very difficult for ports to get permission to dispose of the sediment and it can raise the cost of dredging by about 10 times,” said Mark Simmonds, at the British Ports Association

IMO guidelines for scrubber discharge, which are under review, are set out in terms of the concentrations that are emitted, rather than the absolute quantity of pollutants that are discharged.
The British Ports Association says that it is yet to see convincing studies that address its concerns about the impact of scrubber discharge on sediments over a time period of five or 10 years.

Source: The Independent, 28 October 2019.
Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/shipping-uk-ports-enviro...

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Main menu

Ship scrubbers could render UK ports unusable

In this issue

The ten best climate measures

Editorial: The fossil fuel industry must be shut down

The Dutch nitrogen crisis

European transboundary air pollution is slowly shrinking

Global solar PV market set for dramatic growth over next 5 years

LNG no solution for truck emissions

Post-Euro 6 car emissions standards

The Cry of the Cryosphere

Modelling a shift to sustainable diets

Money quarrels delay a CAP with diluted climate ambition

Climate change threat to European farming

Deforestation must decrease by 95 per cent in a 1.5 °C world

Cutting air pollution will save lives

EU climate policies reviewed

40 years of partnership for clean air

World Energy Outlook faces increasing criticism

In Breif

EU Commission promotes air pollution benefits of climate policy

Stop EU fossil tax subsidies to shipping

Malaysia bans open-loop ship scrubbers

London’s ULEZ cuts NO2

Publications

SINK OR SOURCE? Northern Forests at a crossroads

The role of northern forests in limiting warming to 1.5°C

Protecting Northern Forests crucial for biodiversity, the climate and indigenous rights

The 100 largest industry emitters in EU-27

Road to Nowhere

Bioenergy CCS – too little, too expensive, and not net negative

Direct air carbon capture and storage - A waste of time and energy

Carbon emissions from the cement industry can be reduced without CCS

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