A cargo ship emitting black sooty smoke from HFO (bunker fuel)  THE IMO is working to substantionally reduce emissions in the Arctic  by 2020

A cargo ship emitting black, sulphur dioxide and soot-laden smoke from burning HFO (bunker fuel) THE IMO is working to substantionally reduce emissions in the Arctic by 2020
Photo Credit: Indian Navy/Associated Press

New regulations slowly coming for Arctic ship fuel

The world’s ships burn the lowest quality of fuel known often as bunker fuel. In the industry it’s known as heavy fuel oil (HFO). It emits substantial amounts of sulphur dioxide, and soot.

The International Marine Organization (IMO) is the United Nations agency responsible for regulations on the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution.

At the IMO Environment Protection Committee (MEPC70) meeting which ended on Friday in London, England, several Arctic indigenous groups presented their position on the need to ban HFO in the Arctic

They presented information as to the harm the exhaust emission do to the region. The IMO as a result has agree to begin to develop plans for a substantial reduction in global emissions from burning HFO in shipping by 2020. The current level of 3.5% will be capped at 0.5 percent.

Quoted in the ‘Maritime Executive’  The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a member of the Clean Arctic Alliance, welcomed the progress made. “By recognizing the threats posed by spills and black carbon emissions from heavy fuel oil, the IMO today took a massive step towards the phase out of this dirty fuel from ships sailing in Arctic waters,” said EIA Senior Policy Analyst, Danielle Fest Grabiel. “Getting HFO out of the Arctic will protect human health, coastal communities, and Arctic wildlife like the beluga whale”.

The IMO Polar Code which comes into force in 2017 only says that shipping is “encouraged” not to use or carry HFO into Arctic waters.

The sulphur emissions are a health hazard, and the black soot which drifts onto the snow and ice absorb heat and are believed responsible for up to 30 percent of warming in the Arctic and ice melt.

The majority of shipping in the Arctic currently uses HFO,

Additional information – sources

Categories: Environment & Animal Life, Health, International
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