As climate change impacts the Arctic, momentum is building to rid the region of the world’s dirtiest fuel: heavy fuel oil. Several countries are calling for a ban from Arctic shipping – but more support is needed.
The Clean Arctic Alliance is organising a side-event at MEPC72 on Tuesday, 10 April at 1745: The Climate Crisis: A message from the Arctic. The aim is to increase awareness among IMO delegates about the local and global consequences of the current changes taking place in the Arctic, and to demonstrate the necessity for IMO to agree an ambitious strategy to reduce greenhouse gases from shipping globally and a regional ban on HFO in the Arctic.
A number of shipping companies, including Maersk, Hapag Lloyd and Klaveness, have indicated that they will likely move to low sulphur fuels, and some fuel companies are quietly happy to sell a more expensive, 0.5% sulfur product, while hoping for low numbers of scrubber installation.
With the Arctic facing such challenges, it important to act swiftly to put in place the best possible protection for the region. In early July, the Clean Arctic Alliance attended the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71) in London, where we welcomed an agreement made by member nations to move forward on a proposal to identify measures to mitigate the risks posed by the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) and its carriage as shipping fuel in Arctic waters.
Shipping companies are under pressure to phase out use of heavy fuels, as world’s first hybrid battery-powered cruise ship set for launch in 2018
Master mariner and naval architect Niels Bjørn Mortensen discusses the risks of using heavy fuel oil as a shipping fuel in the Arctic.
Polar explorer and Arctic Commitment signatory Ranulph Fiennes calls on the IMO to implement a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters.
Join us at MEPC71 to discuss the risks associated with the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in Arctic shipping.
Last week, members of the Clean Arctic Alliance team travelled to the annual Arctic Frontiers conference, in the northern Norwegian city of Tromsø. We were there to launch the Arctic Commitment, in partnership with Arctic expedition cruise operator Hurtigruten.
When the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC70) meeting closed in London on Friday, October 28, the Clean Arctic Alliance hailed the progress made by member countries towards a phase out of the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) by ships sailing in Arctic waters.