https://cleantechnica.com/2019/10/05/global-shipping-is-making-false-impressions-about-circumventing-pollution-billions-spent-on-cheat-devices/
Global Shipping Is Making False Impressions About Circumventing
Pollution — Billions Spent On “Cheat Devices”
October 5th, 2019 by Cynthia Shahan
Water goes everywhere. It reaches places and distances that other things
can’t with such flexibility and ingenuity. To attach pollutants to that
ingenious reach is counter to intelligence and consciousness.
Appearances are not always what they seem in the continuing divide
between business and environmental concerns. What appears to be an
improvement may not at all. Sometimes “progress” is simply shifting the
toxins from here to there, or even just hiding their records.
The Independent informs us that the shipping industry is yet another
industry where the burden put on the environment is not being reduced as
much as it’s being shifted and concealed. Experts warn this could have a
terrible, devastating effect on wildlife in British waters — and,
remember, water goes everywhere.
Global shipping companies are rigging vessels with “cheat devices,” even
to the tune of billions of dollars, to create a false impression. By
circumventing new environmental legislation, they are simply dumping
pollution into the sea to protect the air. Seems a case of cutting off
one’s foot instead of one’s hand, metaphorically.
Will Crisp of The Independent follows the money: “More than $12bn
(£9.7bn) has been spent on the devices, known as open-loop scrubbers,
which extract Sulphur from the exhaust fumes of ships that run on heavy
fuel oil.”
My latest exclusive for The Independent: Global shipping companies
have spent $12bn rigging vessels with devices that circumvent new
environmental legislation by dumping pollution into the sea instead of
the air.https://t.co/aNNy3L5WmX#emissions #pollution #climatechange
— Wil Crisp (@bilgribs) September 30, 2019
There are increasing concerns in all directions, as the vessels will
then meet the coming standards demanded by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO), which start in January, but they are simply
re-directing the exhaust from air to water, which will also increase
carbon dioxide emissions, saving nothing in net. The British waters will
be compromised.
Crisp continues (via The Independent): “For every ton of fuel burned,
ships using open-loop scrubbers emit approximately 45 tons of warm,
acidic, contaminated washwater containing carcinogens including
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals, according to
the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), a non-profit
organization that provides scientific analysis to environmental regulators.
“Increasing volumes of wastewater will create toxic sediment around
ports and could have a devastating effect on the wildlife in British
waters, according to Lucy Gilliam, a campaigner for Transport and
Environment, a Brussels-based NGO.
“‘In the North Sea and some parts of the Channel, the water quality has
already been heavily degraded,’ she said.
“Wildlife in these areas is likely to be far more vulnerable to the
effects of having ships discharging huge volumes of acidic, polluted,
warm water from scrubbers.”
The Independent informs that a total of 3,756 ships have already had
scrubbers installed, according to information gathered from the DNV GL,
the world’s largest ship classification company. Of the 3,756 total, a
bare 23 of these vessels have had closed-loop scrubbers installed — that
is, a version of the device that does not discharge into the sea. The
better system carefully stores the extracted sulphur in tanks and takes
it to a “Safe” disposal facility in a port. One still wonders – where
does it go then? The only effective answer is emissions-free vessels.
“The Exhaust Gas Cleaning System Association has estimated that 4,000
ships will be operating with scrubbers by the time the legislation is
enforced, up from fewer than a hundred in 2013,” Crisp adds.
What ships are the ones first adopting the devices? The worst polluters,
larger vessels with the biggest engines. It is never a wonder why many
similar to our dear modern-day heroine are healthfully venting some
objections, frustration, and anger at a system that is not working — and
sailing the ocean instead. She does it for her generation, and my
grandchildren’s as well. Thank you, Greta.
Visiting the Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre in beautiful
Tadoussac, Québec, and watching whales – especially belugas! Thank you
for your hospitality and the work you do! pic.twitter.com/HKuES7qnjv
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) October 1, 2019
As with animals, humans are affected by PAHs, which are linked to skin,
lung, bladder, liver, and stomach cancers.
The romancing of cruise life, until we see zero-emissions vessels, is
something someone educated on this matter could no longer engage in.
If you're concerned about climate change, think twice about taking
a cruise, says @AdamMinter @CLIAGlobal @standearth @patriotact
@hasanminhaj https://t.co/ixxNMlPL4n
— IMOclimate (@IMOclimate) September 30, 2019
Crisp continues,
The other sad thing here is that the money spent to cover up a problem
is just being wasted. “Imagine how far $12bn could have gone if it was
applied towards developing and deploying technologies for zero-emission
vessels,” Bryan Comer, a senior researcher at ICCT, said the use of
scrubbers by cruise ships is a particular concern, adds.
Why the misguided technology exists at all is the question.
On the positive side, some countries have objected, such as the UAE,
whose Port of Fujairah announced a ban on the use of open-loop scrubbers
in its waters. And in China, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, and the US, bans
on scrubber discharge in some regions are in place.
====================================================================
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html
Thousands of ships fitted with ‘cheat devices’ to divert poisonous
pollution into sea
Experts say this could have a devastating effect on wildlife
Wil Crisp
Sunday 29 September 2019
Global shipping companies have spent billions rigging vessels with
“cheat devices” that circumvent new environmental legislation by dumping
pollution into the sea instead of the air, The Independent can reveal.
More than $12bn (£9.7bn) has been spent on the devices, known as
open-loop scrubbers, which extract sulphur from the exhaust fumes of
ships that run on heavy fuel oil.
This means the vessels meet standards demanded by the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) that kick in on 1 January.
However, the sulphur emitted by the ships is simply re-routed from the
exhaust and expelled into the water around the ships, which not only
greatly increases the volume of pollutants being pumped into the sea,
but also increases carbon dioxide emissions.
The change could have a devastating effect on wildlife in British waters
and around the world, experts have warned.
A total of 3,756 ships, both in operation and under order, have already
had scrubbers installed according to DNV GL, the world’s largest ship
classification company.
Only 23 of these vessels have had closed-loop scrubbers installed, a
version of the device that does not discharge into the sea and stores
the extracted sulphur in tanks before discharging it at a safe disposal
facility in a port.
The Exhaust Gas Cleaning System Association has estimated that 4,000
ships will be operating with scrubbers by the time the legislation is
enforced, up from fewer than a hundred in 2013.
The ships that have been quickest to adopt the devices are the larger
vessels, such as bulk carriers, container ships and oil tankers, which
have the biggest engines and have historically been the worst polluters.
For every ton of fuel burned, ships using open-loop scrubbers emit
approximately 45 tons of warm, acidic, contaminated washwater containing
carcinogens including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy
metals, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation
(ICCT), a non-profit organisation that provides scientific analysis to
environmental regulators.
Increasing volumes of wastewater will create toxic sediment around ports
and could have a devastating effect on the wildlife in British waters,
according to Lucy Gilliam, a campaigner for Transport and Environment, a
Brussels-based NGO.
“In the North Sea and some parts of the Channel, the water quality has
already been heavily degraded,” she said. “Wildlife in these areas is
likely to be far more vulnerable to the effects of having ships
discharging huge volumes of acidic, polluted, warm water from scrubbers.
As things stand, far too few parameters are covered by the existing IMO
criteria for permitted discharge from scrubbers.”
She added: “Scrubbers are effectively cheat devices in that they satisfy
environmental legislation, while allowing ships to continue to pollute.
They are legal according to IMO rules, which allows shipping companies
to wash their hands of their environmental responsibilities.”
Heavy metal pollution has been connected to damage to the central
nervous system in humans and animals while PAHs have been blamed for
skin, lung, bladder, liver, and stomach cancers.
The increasing acidification of the world’s waters is killing coral
reefs, something scientific studies have warned threatens entire oceanic
food chains.
Bryan Comer, a senior researcher at ICCT, said the use of scrubbers by
cruise ships is a particular concern.
The ICCT has estimated that cruise ships with scrubbers will consume
around 4 million tons of heavy fuel oil in 2020 and will discharge 180
million tons of contaminated scrubber washwater overboard.
“About half of the world’s roughly 500 cruise ships have or will soon
have scrubbers installed,” said Mr Comer. “Cruise ships operate in some
of the most beautiful and pristine areas on the planet, making this all
the more concerning.”
Scrubbers generally cost between £1.6m and £8.1m depending on the vessel
– and the adoption of this technology has cost billions of dollars over
recent years, according to Mr Comer.
“If you are conservative and say that ships are spending about $3m
(£2.4m) per ship to instal scrubbers, at 4,000 ships that’s $12bn
(£9.7bn) dollars of investment in a technology that enables ships to use
the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel – heavy fuel oil.
“Worse, scrubbers increase fuel consumption by about 2 per cent,
increasing carbon dioxide emissions.
“Imagine how far $12bn could have gone if it was applied towards
developing and deploying technologies for zero-emission vessels.”
Under IMO regulations, ships are permitted to use open-loop scrubbers as
what they call “equivalents”. These are defined as: “Any fitting,
material, appliance or apparatus to be fitted in a ship or other
procedures, alternative fuel oils, or compliance methods used as an
alternative to that required.”
In statement to The Independent, the IMO said: “The intention behind
that idea of equivalents is to allow for innovation.”
Though IMO member states have approved the use of open-loop scrubbers to
meet the incoming sulphur cap, some regional ports have introduced rules
to prevent their use.
In January, the UAE’s Port of Fujairah announced a ban on the use of
open-loop scrubbers in its waters.
In July, China said it would extend a ban scrubber discharges to cover
all coastal regions within 12 nautical miles from China’s territorial
sea and regions near the southern island province of Hainan.
Authorities in Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the US have also
implemented bans on scrubber discharge in some regions.
In May, EU member states made a submission to the IMO’s Marine
Environment Protection Committee calling for it to develop a set of
“harmonised rules” on the areas and conditions under which scrubbers can
discharge.
In response, the committee appointed a team to assess the available
evidence relating to the environmental impact of discharges from
scrubbers. This team is due to present its findings in February 2020.
In a statement issued to The Independent, the IMO said it had already
“adopted strict criteria for discharge of washwater from exhaust gas
cleaning systems”.
It added that it is “undertaking a review of the 2015 guidelines on
exhaust gas cleaning systems. The guidelines include, among other
things, washwater discharge standards.”
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