US Coast Guard has recently held a very successful and informative public listening session in Washington D.C. on the topic of heavy fuel oil (HFO) use by ships in the Arctic. The purpose of the session was to exchange information regarding environmental risks to Arctic waters posed by HFO use by ships; potential measures that could be taken to reduce those risks; and development and economics of communities that would be directly affected by such measures.
As the lead agency representing the U.S. at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Coast Guard has been leading an interagency group examining the risks of HFO use in the Arctic with a goal of developing sustainable mitigation strategies which can be taken to the IMO. This work has included multiple work sessions among the Federal interagency, discussions at Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME), and at the IMO.
Mr. Jeff Lantz, director of Commercial Regulations and Standards at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, and also head of U.S. Delegation to the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee and Marine Environment Protection Committee led the listening session
Several short presentations were given and then a robust discussion ensued. Topics covered ranged from the risks of an HFO spill and its potential effects on Arctic ecosystems, actual amounts of HFO being used as fuel by ships in the Arctic, the potential effect of vessel traffic on subsistence hunting and food security, potential mitigations measures that could be applied to reduce risks posed by HFO, and the effects that a potential ban of HFO in the Arctic might have on remote communities’ ability to affordably receive essential goods.
Mr. Jeff Lantz summarized the session stating, “This was a very successful and informative discussion with broad representation. Our goal through this work is to identify the issues and possible options to address the effects of use and carriage for use of HFO by ships in the Arctic with the intention of bringing them forward for consideration and discussion at a future session of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee at IMO.”
Source: USCG News
