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ships
AirClim
Seas At Risk
Bellona Foundation
North Sea Foundation
Transport & Environment
European Environmental Bureau
Increasing emissions
Shipping is a major cause of harmful air pollution in Europe and by 2020 shipping
emissions of SO2 and NOx could exceed the emissions of these pollutants from
all other sources in the EU.
This pollution must be reduced dramatically to protect health and the
environment and to make shipping a more sustainable form of transport.
Technical measures exist that could cut the level of pollution from ships by
at least 8090 per cent and doing so would be much cheaper than cutting the
same amount of pollution from land-based sources.
12,000
10,000
EU 27
8,000
Sea-baseline
6,000
4,000
TSAP
2,000
IMO
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
12,000
Sea-baseline
9,000
6,000
TSAP
IMO
3,000
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
Health damage
Smokestack emissions from international shipping kill
approximately 50,000 people a year in Europe, at an annual cost to society of more than 58 billion, according
to a recent scientific study.
The researchers used data and projections of ships
emissions of SO2, NOx and particulate matter (PM) for
the years 20002020. Through chemical reactions in the
air, SO2 and NOx is converted into very small airborne
particles, sulphate and nitrate aerosols.
Tiny airborne particles are linked to premature deaths.
The particles get into the lungs and are small enough to
pass through tissues and enter the blood. They can then
trigger inflammations which eventually cause heart and
lung failures. Ship emissions may also contain carcinogenic particles.
Nearly half of Europes population lives in areas where
EU air quality targets are still not met, and in 2008,
the EUs air quality standards for PM were exceeded in
almost 300 zones in 21 member states (out of some 900
zones in total).
Implementing the stricter ship fuel sulphur standards
agreed by the International Maritime Organisation in
2008 is estimated to save up to 26,000 lives per year in
the EU in 2020.
Acidification, eutrophication, ozone...
Since they cause acidification of soil and water, emissions
of SO2 and NOx continue to be a serious problem in large
parts of Europe. NOx also contributes to the formation
of ground-level ozone, which damages vegetation as well
Denmark
Netherlands
Sweden
Norway
UK
France
Italy
Belgium
Finland
Germany
Sulphur
NOx-nitrogen
39%
31%
25%
25%
18%
18%
15%
13%
12%
10%
28%
21%
25%
23%
20%
15%
15%
16%
17%
10%
Source: EMEP 2010
International action
By fitting SCR to all its engines, the emissions of NOx from Viking Lines MS Cinderella are cut by 97 per
cent, down to 0.5 g/kWh. It also uses low-sulphur (<0.5%) fuel, and is in Stockholm connected to shoreside power. In early 2013, Viking Line will introduce a new ship serving the Turku-land-Stockholm line and
operating on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
4
Sulphur dioxide
Low-sulphur fuel. Sea-going ships burn extremely dirty
fuels that contain on average 2.53 per cent sulphur
almost 3,000 times the sulphur content of road fuel in
Europe. The simplest way of reducing SO2 emissions is
to switch to fuel oil with a low sulphur content.
Because of its higher quality, low-sulphur distillate
fuel has the advantage that engines run smoother with
less risk of operating problems and lower maintenance
costs. It also significantly reduces emissions of PM and
several other harmful substances.
Scrubbers. A possible alternative option to low sulphur
fuel is to install exhaust gas cleaning (scrubbers), which
can reduce SO2 emissions by up to 99 per cent, and also
markedly cut PM emissions. There are still some concerns
however, including the abatement efficiency of various
technologies, use in harbour areas, and waste production
and handling.
Nitrogen oxides
Internal Engine Modifications (IEM), Exhaust Gas
Recirculation (EGR) and water injection are different
techniques for preventing the formation of NOx during
combustion. The potential for emission reduction is
around 3050 per cent, the highest for water injection.
HAM, Humid Air Motor, prevents NOx-formation
during combustion by adding water vapour to the
combustion air. The method is able to reduce NOx by
7085 per cent.
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
ppm S
5,000
10,000
10,000
Bellona Foundation
Boks 2141 Grnerlkka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
Tel +47 2 3234600
Email: info@bellona.no
Internet: www.bellona.org
Produced by: Miljinformation strm & Nilsson AB. Printed by TRydells, Laholm, Sweden, November 2011. Photographs by/copyrights : Cover: Eric Gevaert/Fotolia.com,
Page 3: Georg Sessler/scanpix. Page 4: Viking line. Page 7: European community