Clean Arctic Alliance Reacts to Ships Sailing From Asia to Europe Via Arctic Route
Responding to reports that the Liberian-flagged container vessel Dubai Tower has departed the Chinese port city of Ningbo in an attempt to cross the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic, and news that South Korea’s PanStar has purchased a ship for an imminent Arctic crossing, Dr Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance ...
Dr. Sian Prior, a Lead Advisor for the Clean Arctic Alliance, expressed serious concerns regarding the growing interest in utilizing the Northern Sea Route as a regular trade route. This interest could lead to increased climate impacts, pollution, and loss of biodiversity in the Arctic region. The Alliance warns that increased commercial shipping activity will result in higher emissions of black carbon, a potent short-lived climate forcer that accelerates melting of both sea ice and land ice when it settles in the atmosphere.
Black carbon's impact on the Arctic is particularly concerning, as it hastens the melting of sea ice, a crucial part of the natural climate cycle. Currently, Arctic sea ice is at its eighth lowest extent on record, with still another month to go before the Autumn equinox. While using liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power ships is not a suitable alternative fuel due to methane emissions throughout its life-cycle, other sources of ship pollution, such as oil and wastewater discharges and underwater noise, also harm the overall health of the Arctic Ocean and impact Indigenous communities reliant on Arctic resources.
Dr. Prior emphasized the importance of adhering to international regulations and guidelines set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). These regulations should encourage the use of cleaner distillate fuels or alternative fuels with lower black carbon emissions during Arctic crossings. However, recent IMO regulations to reduce heavy fuel oil usage in the Arctic and establish the Northeast Atlantic Emission Control Area (ECA) are a step in the right direction but fail to adequately address black carbon emissions.
The Alliance called on Arctic countries and other states to support Denmark's proposal for a new regulation requiring the use of cleaner maritime fuels in the Arctic. This regulation would be based on the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) and applied within the region used for the AMAP, ensuring a level playing field across the entire Arctic.
By directly targeting black carbon emissions from ships, this polar fuel measure would prevent the use of ultra-low sulphur fuel oils (ULSFOs) or heavy residual fuel oils (HFOs) with scrubbers, which could still be used under ECA designation.
Written by urgent.news from Hellenic Shipping News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
