THE SHIPPING NEWS

Ecoserv moves into the crucially important – and rapidly growing – area of monitoring shipping emissions.

Ecoserv senior consultant, Bryan Taylor, recently got a taste of his ocean-going past when he was called in to assess emissions from a ship docked in Durban harbour.

Aircraft emissions are frequently fingered as a major culprit in global warming. After all, according to an article in The Independent – the highly esteemed UK newspaper – civil aviation accounts for 1.6 percent (or more even more, according to other sources) of global emissions. And as the figure could triple by 2050, it receives no shortage of media attention.

These statistics are disturbing, naturally, and with passenger numbers in the UK alone expected to rise from 200 million to 470 million by 2030, this would see carbon emissions from UK aviation soar from their 2000 level of 8.8 million tons annually, to around 18.8 million tons a year. Needless to say, these figures appall environmentalists and anyone else with an interest in the planet's health.

Yet it seems to remain a relatively unpublicised fact that the shipping industry emits about twice as much carbon dioxide as do planes. According to The Guardian – yet another august British publication - these emissions are rising at an alarming rate, which is closely linked to the fact that 90 percent of the world's goods are carried by sea.

In fact, these figures could rise by as much as 75 percent in the next 15 to 20 years, notably if world trade continues to grow or no action is taken, says The Guardian .

This makes Ecoserv's recent move into the new area of measuring ship emissions all the more vitally important.

“Emissions from ships remain an enigma to much of the environmental testing community,” says Ecoserv MD Quentin Hurt .

“Ecoserv has included ship emissions in its Richards Bay and Durban inventories and we have an appreciation of the aggregate harbour-based emissions. Individual emission sources are poorly understood.”

The first such test was recently performed in Durban harbour by Ecoserv consultant Bryan Taylor aboard a refrigerated cargo vessel called, appropriately enough, Ice Flake, on behalf of good customer Dormac.

Bryan notes that oxides of nitrogen – both concentrations and emissions – from the ship's onboard generator were measured and compared and found to be compliant against existing guidelines.

Figures from the oil giant BP, which owns 50 tankers, and researchers at the Institute for Physics and Atmosphere in Wessling , Germany , reveal that annual emissions from shipping range between 600 and 800 million tons of carbon dioxide, or up to 5% of the global total, continues the article. This is nearly double Britain 's total emissions and more than all African countries combined.

More alarming still, carbon dioxide emissions from ships do not come under the Kyoto agreement or any proposed European legislation.

In the same article, Donald Gregory, director of environment at BP Marine, said that BP estimates that the global fleet of 70 000 ships uses approximately 200 million tonnes of fuel a year – and this is expected to grow to 350 million tonnes a year by 2020.

Meanwhile, a draft UN report, quoted in the Mail & Guardian Online, states that the world's shipping fleet emits some 1.21 billion tons of CO2 a year. It also points to ways to substantially cut emissions.

These include making ships travel more slowly – perhaps difficult in this age of instant gratification, but a 10 percent speed reduction would result in a 23 percent reduction of CO₂ emissions. Ship owners could also design more efficient ships – and there has been a resurgence in interest in harnessing wind-power – fit scrubbing equipment to capture emissions on board, and burn higher quality fuel.

This is increasingly vital as the same UN report says that pollutants such as sulphur and soot – which give rise to lung cancers, acid rain and respiratory problems – are predicted to soar more than 30 percent over the next 12 years.

Perhaps reassuring then is the fact that late last year the US Environmental Protection Agency issued plans for new emission standards for diesel engines on large, ocean-going vessels. Among other things this would require the implementation of high-efficiency after-treatment technology and lower sulphur marine fuels.

“ Diesel ships are a global economic workhorse. By advancing clean diesel technology, this economic workhorse can become an environmental workhorse," says EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.  "Working with the International Maritime Organization, EPA is reducing emissions from the shipping sector – making ports across the world harbours of cleaner air."

“Hemingway said that the sea was the last free place on earth,” observes Quentin. “While it will remain so, regulation at ports will clearly increase. As a keen, green sailor, I see this as a positive step.”