NABU: Pollution from Ships Cut Significantly due to SECA

The air pollution in the North Sea and Baltic Sea has declined considerably one year after the introduction of stricter sulphur limits for marine fuel, according to the study released by German NGO Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU). 

First time for Europe the study shows the impacts of the stricter requirements on fuel quality in Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) on the environment and maritime industry.

The maximum allowed sulphur content of marine fuels in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel had been lowered by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) from January 1st 2015 from 1.0 percent to 0.1 percent. The study shows that after the introduction of the measure, the air quality in coastal areas improved significantly. The tightened sulphur limits values in the North and Baltic SeaS also reduced socio-economic costs considerably.

Although the shipping industry had warned that stricter requirements for marine diesel would increase costs and thus shift traffic to road, this was not the case, NABU claims.

“The study results demonstrate the very positive overall socio-economic balance of the SECA. By using better fuels, sulphur dioxide concentrations have been lowered by 50 percent or more. Correspondingly the costs for health impacts and environmental damage lead to lower costs paid by society. The SECA is a European success story, which sends a clear signal, to globally reinforce the standards,” NABU CEO Leif Miller points out.

With regard to the planned reduction in the global sulfur limit of marine fuel from the current maximum of 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent in 2020, NABU says it can already state that the economic benefits will clearly exceed any additional costs due to higher quality fuels.

The study also finds that socio economic costs are lowered by between 4.4 to 8 billion EUR per year.

In addition, RoRo ferries and short sea shipping which were assumed to be the most affected businesses as they operate almost exclusively in the SECA zone have not faced negative impacts due to the tightened sulphur standards according to statements from the industry itself. Some shipping companies even reported a financial record year for the year 2015 and established new services.

When it comes to control and enforcement EMSA data reported that 3 – 9% of the checked ships did not meet legal requirements. Experts indicate that the rate of non-compliance on open seas might be significantly higher, but the limited available data does not allow to draw conclusions on this aspect.

As a result, additional monitoring and control techniques need to be developed in order to better control behavior on open seas, with sanctions proportionate to the economic benefits of not complying with the regulations.

“The air quality could be even better, because the major deficit of the current SECA is missing control. Currently, the checks are punctually near ports, that is why we suggest a high number of unreported cases of violations at open sea. The economic incentive to violate by burning cheaper heavy oil is simply too great while the risk of getting caught is close to zero,” NABU Transport Expert Dietmar Oeliger says.