December 16, 2015 at 11:02From the 15 largest sea vessels in 2009 there were as many emissions as from 760 million cars
A professor at the Center for the Study of Marine Policies at the University of Delaware in 2009 said: “Pollution from marine vessels affects the health of people living in coastal and inland areas around the world, and pollution from ships is the least regulated part of the global transport system. "
His words were confirmed by the Guardian report, according to which one of the largest container carriers emits emissions as much as fifty million cars. And the amount of nitric oxide and sulfur oxide from the fifteen largest ships is the same as the number from seven hundred and sixty million cars that were counted all over the world that year.
Six years have passed since then. What changed?
World's Largest Container Ship CMA CGM Christophe Colomb
The engines of ships with a capacity of 109,000 horsepower continuously operate twenty-four hours a day and two hundred eighty days a year. In fact, this is one of the most energy-efficient systems in the world, writes Jeremy Korzhenevsky. The problem is the fuel oil on which they operate, and the lack of attention of regulators on the amount of emissions from ships. The sulfur content in the fuel used by ships is two thousand times higher than in diesel for cars in the USA and Europe.
In 2009, authorities in some countries began to introduce requirements. For example, the United States forbade such ships to approach the coast of the country two hundred and thirty miles, the United Kingdom was preparing to introduce such requirements. These decisions were led, among others, by a study by specialists from Florida, according to whichpollution from ninety thousand cargo ships annually leads to sixty thousand human deaths and costs three hundred thirty billion health care system - this money treats lung and heart diseases. A buffer zone of two hundred miles should save more than eight thousand lives a year.
The study of the Danish government added color to this picture. According to the Ministry of Environment, in 2009 emissions from ships cost Danish health care five billion pounds annually. Earlier, the ministry estimated that a thousand Danes die every year from these emissions.
For a year, a car that travels 15,000 kilometers emits 101 grams of sulfur oxide. The diesel engines of the largest ships produced 5,200 tons of sulfur oxides in 280 days a year. That is, one container ship is able to "replace" 51 million cars with an internal combustion engine.
The data above refers to 2009. In 2012, the European Union issued Directive 2012/33 / EU , limiting the sulfur content in fuel oil of 0.1%. This indicator can only be exceeded if the vessel is equipped with an appropriate emission control system. This restriction applies to ships in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and the US coast. Outside of these zones, the sulfur content limit is 3.5%, but it will be reduced after January 1, 2020 to 0.5%.
It remains to wait for a study that will show the results of a reduction in emissions of marine vessels, a reduction in the burden on the healthcare system. And is this effect not offset by the proliferation of cars with internal combustion engines, the number of which has already stepped over a billion in 2011?
His words were confirmed by the Guardian report, according to which one of the largest container carriers emits emissions as much as fifty million cars. And the amount of nitric oxide and sulfur oxide from the fifteen largest ships is the same as the number from seven hundred and sixty million cars that were counted all over the world that year.
Six years have passed since then. What changed?
World's Largest Container Ship CMA CGM Christophe Colomb
The engines of ships with a capacity of 109,000 horsepower continuously operate twenty-four hours a day and two hundred eighty days a year. In fact, this is one of the most energy-efficient systems in the world, writes Jeremy Korzhenevsky. The problem is the fuel oil on which they operate, and the lack of attention of regulators on the amount of emissions from ships. The sulfur content in the fuel used by ships is two thousand times higher than in diesel for cars in the USA and Europe.
In 2009, authorities in some countries began to introduce requirements. For example, the United States forbade such ships to approach the coast of the country two hundred and thirty miles, the United Kingdom was preparing to introduce such requirements. These decisions were led, among others, by a study by specialists from Florida, according to whichpollution from ninety thousand cargo ships annually leads to sixty thousand human deaths and costs three hundred thirty billion health care system - this money treats lung and heart diseases. A buffer zone of two hundred miles should save more than eight thousand lives a year.
The study of the Danish government added color to this picture. According to the Ministry of Environment, in 2009 emissions from ships cost Danish health care five billion pounds annually. Earlier, the ministry estimated that a thousand Danes die every year from these emissions.
For a year, a car that travels 15,000 kilometers emits 101 grams of sulfur oxide. The diesel engines of the largest ships produced 5,200 tons of sulfur oxides in 280 days a year. That is, one container ship is able to "replace" 51 million cars with an internal combustion engine.
The data above refers to 2009. In 2012, the European Union issued Directive 2012/33 / EU , limiting the sulfur content in fuel oil of 0.1%. This indicator can only be exceeded if the vessel is equipped with an appropriate emission control system. This restriction applies to ships in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and the US coast. Outside of these zones, the sulfur content limit is 3.5%, but it will be reduced after January 1, 2020 to 0.5%.
It remains to wait for a study that will show the results of a reduction in emissions of marine vessels, a reduction in the burden on the healthcare system. And is this effect not offset by the proliferation of cars with internal combustion engines, the number of which has already stepped over a billion in 2011?