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Sustainability
By
Darryl
Martins
The Issue
A study has shown that these emissions from international ships are concentrated
within at approximately 200 nautical miles from the coast. Over 60000 deaths annually
are attributed to the ship emissions (Corbett, Winebrake, Green, Kasibhatla, Eyring, &
Lauer, 2007). The many adverse effects of air pollution such as premature deaths,
overstated.
The fuels used by ships are generally of very poor quality, being the dregs left
from crude oils, after all the lighter factions have been extracted. The International
Maritime Organization Green House Gas Study, states that International shipping
contributed 2.7% equivalent to 870 million tonnes to the global CO2 emissions (Buhaug,
et al., 2009). With the ever-increasing trade that is required to fuel the growing
transportation. 90 % of the world trade is carried in ships. The tonne per mile carbon
emissions from shipping are the lowest compared to other modes of transportation.
Ships are propelled by diesel engines that use fossil fuels for energy. To date no
other motive power rivals the efficiency of this propulsion system, thereby dictating that
fossil fuel powered ships will be around for many years to come. The International
Maritime Organization (IMO) has come under pressure to address the issue of emissions
The Response
MARPOL Annex VI (protocol of 1997) is the IMO instrument that sets standards
and regulates air emissions from ships. After being ratified by 25 states representing 50%
of the world tonnage, Annex VI came into force on the 19th May 2005. The introduction
of Annex VI has successfully addressed some of the issues of air pollution from ships.
The main GHG emitted from ships are Nitrous Oxide (NO2), Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Each gas has been addressed by Annex VI. The NOx
technical code sets the limit of NO2 emissions from engines built after the year 2000. The
NO2 emitted is dependent on the piston speed (engine revolutions per minute) of the
engines. Ships built after the year 2000 are all fitted with tier I compliant engines. Tier II
which reduces the NO2 emissions from new engines marginally, takes effect in 2011. Tier
III which is a drastic cut of NO2 emissions comes into effect in 2016. The tier II
requirements have been met by reducing the temperature of the exhaust gases and fitting
Selective Catalytic Reactors (SCR). For Tier III there have been some solutions, but these
have not been received well as they reduce the efficiency of the engines.
SO2 emissions have been addressed by regulating the Sulfur content in the fuel
used by ships. At present, the maximum sulfur content allowed is 4.5 % by weight. This
is mandated for reduction to 3.5% by 2012 and after a review in 2018 down to 0.5% by
2020.
With CO2 emissions, there has been little progress. A system of voluntary Ship
Energy Efficiency Management Plan has been suggested by the IMO to promote better
management of energy use. Market Based Instruments (MBI) and a bunker levy (BL)
have been recommended to allow the market to find a viable solution. Both these
suggestions to date have met with resistance. IMO now has a deadline to submit a
environmental laws of the flag state (the country in which the ship is registered), for
environmental compliance.
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) found that 35 countries controlled 95.6% of the
global merchant fleet of ships over 1000 tons. The majority of these being owned by
majority of these ships were registered with another country, most of which had
Periveir, 2011)
charterers and sub charterers, fictitious cargo owners and cargo shippers, remotely based
managers and operators and the international nature of crews are some of the issues that
contribute to the complexity. This has made it difficult to enforce the principle of
‘polluter must pay’ as it is difficult to pin point the ownership of the pollution.
Ship owners generally do not feel the obligation to run their ships at high
efficiency or try out new fuel saving technology, as the cost-benefit accrued goes to the
charterers. The IMO GHG Study 2009 has assessed that just by operational measures
there is a potential for reducing the CO2/tonne-mile anywhere between 10 and 50%
and this has been sighted as one of the main cause of the unsustainable nature of
shipping.
The consensus is that it takes at least seven years for the IMO to formulate, ratify
environmental issues has frustrated the international community. This is evident from the
unilateral measures that have been taken by some coastal nations and states. The Sulfur
Emission Control Areas of the North Sea and Baltic (SECA) and the California Air
Regulation Board (CARB) have set their own standards that are imposed on ships that
trade in their ports. In the SECA area fuel with a sulfur content of 1.5% must be used.
The governance of the regulations is left up to the flag state, supported by port
state inspectors in various ports of the world. The standards used by all these inspectors
they are practically non-existent and in some cases, the affordable dollars set the
standard. Ship owners and operators looking for cost cutting take advantage of these
differences in standards.
has not matured within the corporate structure of shipping companies. One of the reasons
is because of the cyclic nature of the industry. In good times a particular ship could earns
$200,000 per day, yet when there is an economic crunch, the same ship could be
chartered for $9000 per day. These low figures do not even cover the daily operational
costs of the ships. This high a difference is not imaginable in other transport industries
where the earnings do not fluctuate as much. It is understandable that this leaves ship
owners very insecure and with little or no incentive to invest in CSR for which there may
The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 was the first global response to address the causes of
climate change and promote sustainability. However, the protocol neglected to consider
shipping and no mention of the industry was made. The principle of the Common But
Shipping Community, as some flag states claim rights under the CBDR principles as far
of the commons applies in many areas. There is no doubt that international environmental
laws should apply to international shipping. The IMO has been a working tirelessly
towards this end. This can only happen if ship owners are given some incentives for
showing CSR.
Sustainable Principles.
Works
Cited
Buhaug, O., Cobertt, J. J., Eyring, V., Endersen, O., Faber, J., Hanayama, S., et al. (2009,
April). Second IMO GHG Study 2009. 4-5. London, UK: International Maritime
Organization.
Corbett, J., Winebrake, J., Green, E., Kasibhatla, Eyring, V., & Lauer, A. (2007, May
11). Mortality from Ship Emissions: A Global Assessment. Environmental Science and
Technology . American Chemical Society.