Carnival Corporation emitted about 10 times more sulphur oxide (SOx) around European coasts than did all 260 million European cars in 2017, a new analysis by sustainable transport group Transport & Environment reveals. As for Royal Caribbean Cruises, it is second, with yet four times worse than the European car fleet.
Red Funnel, a UK ferry operator, has been testing the use of biofuel in its ferries for nine months, but the company commented that although biofuel can be burnt, supply and legislation issues mean that the fuel is not currently viable for them.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) announced that Africa is ready to implement the global regulations concerning the air pollution by vessels, according to IMO’s MARPOL convention. SAMSA’s acting CEO, Mr Sobantu Tilayi, focuses on the 2020 sulphur cap and Africa’s intention on fighting pollution and reducing shipping emissions.
An £80,000 network of air pollution monitors, funded by the Port of London Authority, is now in place, ready to record the effect of emissions locally from cruise ships docking in Greenwich this summer. The eight monitoring stations are located close to the Greenwich Ship Tier landing stage. They will capture data all day long, with the raw data available at the websites of both the PLA and Breathe London.
In light of IMO’s MEPC 74 meeting in London being conducted this week, groups issue call to reevaluate scrubbers as alternative compliance tool for 2020 fuel standards, citing evidence in US federal case against Carnival Corporation.
The Hong Kong Marine Department published a notice advising operators on the amendment to the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation for incorporating the latest requirements of MARPOL Annex VI. The Amendment Regulation will come into force on 31 May 2019. The new requirements will regard all Hong Kong registered ocean going vessels (OGVs), wherever they are and all OGVs within Hong Kong waters.
A new paper called ‘Sailing on Solar’, commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund Europe and developed by Ricardo, showcases a vision of how international shipping can meet its target of at least halving emissions by 2050, while at the same time helping developing nations leverage the emerging clean energy economy. The paper focuses on green ammonia produced from surplus renewable electricity.
Air pollution up to 220 times higher than in areas with clean air was reported in various parts of the city and the harbor in Naples on 26 and 27 April 2019 by Cittadini per l’Aria in collaboration with the Committee for Livability Town and technical support of environmentalist NGO experts German, NABU. These emissions come from ships.
As the shipping is becoming more and more interested in reducing its emissions, Chris Chatterton, COO of the Methanol Institute, discusses about the challenges arising from decarbonisation for the maritime sector. The next decade and beyond will be far more complex for the shipping industry than the previous one and the carbon challenge sits behind every analysis, Mr. Chatterton argues.
On March 25, the US Coast Guard reported that approximately five dozen ships will be in line to transit the Houston Ship Channel, as efforts to clean the waste from the International Terminals tank fire continue. TCEQ has been taking water samples from the drainage ditch, and nine chemicals in its samples exceeded health-protective concentration levels.
