US Congresswoman Nanette Barragán recently led 15 Members of Congress in a letter to US President Joe Biden, urging his administration to issue an Executive Order to support the decarbonisation of the maritime industry. 

Greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are projected to increase, and it’s critical that the federal government take action to reduce emissions and address the pollution impacts that shipping has on environmental justice communities. 

The Members wrote: “We want to thank you for leadership in addressing the global climate crisis and for the actions you have already taken to make sure that the United States cuts all greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by 2050.”

“We now ask that you build on these commitments by issuing an Executive Order to spark innovation and open opportunities for decarbonising the maritime sector and future-proof this critical component of our supply chains.”

“We strongly urge your Administration to make this Executive Order effective, actionable, and equitable by including specific, time-bound actions and creating and maintaining high-quality jobs and advancing environmental justice.”

The letter includes several recommendations that the President should include in an Executive Order to help decarbonise the maritime industry:

• Use existing Clean Air Act authority to establish a goal-based fuel standard for ships calling on US ports.
• Use existing authorities to eliminate in-port ship emissions by 2030.
• Immediately establish a monitoring, reporting, and verification mechanism to collect fuel consumption and emissions data from all ships that traverse US waters and use US ports, building a baseline for emissions management.
• Direct resources toward the electrification and quieting of the US federal ferry and harbour craft fleet.
• Support US shipbuilders and maritime stakeholders to build low- and zero-emission and quiet marine vessels.
• Support the development, demonstration, and value chains of zero-emission alternative fuels and technologies for the maritime sector.
• Phase out and ban the use of sulphur scrubbers on ships in US waters.

“The Biden administration has already made significant commitments to eliminate emissions from the shipping industry, but there is more that can be done immediately through executive action,” said Carrie Bonfield, Ocean Conservancy’s U.S. Policy Manager, Shipping Emissions. 

“With the support of 60 organisations, eight industry organisations, over 24,000 members of the public and now members of Congress, we urge the Biden administration to issue an executive order with these seven recommendations immediately.”

“There is no time to waste: we must get to work eliminating emissions from the maritime sector if we are to meet our climate goals and protect the public from these harmful pollutants.”

“We thank Representative Barragan and all the Congressional leaders who joined on this letter calling for President Biden to issue an executive order on shipping decarbonisation.” 

Representative Barragán was joined on the letter by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Adriano Espaillat, Robert Garcia, Jimmy Gomez, Jared Huffman, Pramila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Doris Matsui, Kevin Mullin, Chellie Pingree, Katie Porter, Delia Ramirez, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, and Rashida Tlaib.

 

Photo credit: william william on Unsplash
Published: 30 July 2024

A new study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, released on Tuesday (7 May), showed that discharge from ships with scrubbers have caused pollution corresponding to socio-economic costs of more than EUR 680 million (USD 731 million) between 2014 and 2022. 

At the same time, the researchers of the study titled Strong economic incentives of ship scrubbers promoting pollution, noted that the shipping companies' investments in the much-discussed technology, where exhaust gases are "washed" and discharged into the sea, have already been recouped for most of the ships. 

“This means that the industry is now making billions of euros by running its ships on cheap heavy fuel oil instead of cleaner fuel,” the researchers claimed. 

 “We see a clear conflict of interest, where private economic interests come at the expense of the marine environment in one of the world's most sensitive seas," said Chalmers doctoral student Anna Lunde Hermansson, who is one of the authors of the new study, published in Nature Sustainability.

The study has been prompted by the ongoing discussion on a potential ban of scrubber water discharge – where large volumes of polluted water is produced and discharged from the ships' exhaust gas cleaning systems. The issue is on the agenda at multiple levels within the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and is also being discussed at EU level as well as on national levels such as the Swedish Parliament, although a Swedish decision on a ban is yet to be made.

Anna Lunde Hermansson and Chalmers colleagues Erik Ytreberg and Ida-Maja Hassellöv have been researching the environmental impact of shipping for many years and are contributing with their expertise in both international and national contexts. 

In a previous study, for example, they have shown that more than 200 million cubic metres of environmentally hazardous scrubber water is discharged into the Baltic Sea annually and that scrubber discharge water accounts for up to 9 percent of the total emissions of certain carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into the Baltic Sea. 

Excluding oil spill costs

In the new study, the Chalmers researchers calculated both the external costs of scrubber water discharge, and the financial balance sheets of over 3,800 vessels that invested in the scrubber technology. As for the costs associated with the degradation of marine ecosystems, the study shows that between the years 2014 and 2022, scrubber water discharges have polluted at a cost of over EUR 680 million in the Baltic Sea area. 

The calculations are based on models for willingness to pay to avoid marine environmental degradation, but according to the researchers, the estimates should be regarded as an underestimate. For example, direct costs associated with heavy fuel oil spills from ships using scrubbers are not included. The multi-million euro sum that it costs to clean up oil after ships have grounded and leak oil, for example Marco Polo on the Swedish coast of Blekinge last autumn, are not included in the calculations. 

“If the scrubbers had not existed, no ships today would have been allowed to run on this dirty residual fuel. That is why the scrubber issue is highly relevant to push the shipping industry towards less negative environmental impact," says Lunde Hermansson.

Restrictions in several countries

In terms of the shipowner perspective, the researchers calculated the costs of installing and maintaining the scrubber systems, as well as the monetary gain from running the scrubber-equipped vessels on the cheaper and dirtier heavy fuel oil instead of the more expensive low-sulphur fuel alternatives. According to the calculations, the majority of the shipping companies that invested in scrubbers have already reached break even, and the total surplus by the end of 2022 for all of the 3,800 vessels, was EUR 4.7 billion. The researchers also note that more than 95 percent of the most common scrubber system (so-called open loop) are repaid within five years.

“From the industry's point of view, it is often stressed that shipping companies have acted in good faith by investing in technology that would solve the problem of sulphur content in air emissions and that they should not be penalised. Our calculations show that most investments have already been recouped and that this is no longer a valid argument," said Lunde Hermansson.

Recently, Denmark has decided to ban the discharge of scrubber water into so-called territorial waters, within 12 nautical miles of the coast. A number of countries around the world, such as Germany, France, Portugal, Turkey and China, have also adopted national bans or restrictions.

In Sweden, there is currently no general ban, although some ports, such as the Port of Gothenburg, have banned the discharge of scrubber water in their area. 

“We now hope that the issue will also be given priority in the Swedish Parliament. This is a low-hanging fruit where we can reduce our negative impact on the vital marine environment,” said Lunde Hermansson.

Note: The study titled ‘Strong economic incentives of ship scrubbers promoting pollution’ can be found here.

 

Photo credit: Chalmers University of Technology
Published: 8 May 2024

Denmark’s Minister of the Environment Magnus Heunicke on Friday (8 March) said he will discuss with Parliament on how the discharge of wastewater from scrubbers can be banned from its waters.

In a statement on the ministry’s website, the ministry said new figures from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency show that the discharge of scrubber water from ships is a significant source of several of the heavy metals and tar substances that pollute the marine environment. 

Ships use so-called scrubbers to clean the flue gas of sulphur, by washing the smoke and then discharging the scrubber water directly into the sea.

Heavy metals in fish and shellfish for human consumption can have serious negative effects on humans in large quantities. For example, excessive amounts of lead can affect the development of the central nervous system, including the ability to learn and remember, while cadmium can affect the function of the kidneys.

"When heavy metals and tar substances are discharged into our marine environment, they largely do not disappear and remain in constant circulation in the sea,” Heunicke said. 

“The substances accumulate on the seabed and in the ocean's food chains, and this is deeply worrying for our marine environment and our health. We have to find a long-term solution to that.”

 

Photo credit: Denmark’s Ministry of the Environment
Published: 12 March 2024