USA Takes Initiative on Shipping Pollution Restrictions

The United States of America has led by example in enforcing stringent new regulations which will force all large boats manufactured from 2016 onwards to drastically curb their pollutant emissions. The law applies to vessels over 24m long and with a gross tonnage of more than 500 tonnes, and aims to slash emissions by almost 80%.

The American legislation comes in the wake of a protracted battle between environmental lobbyists and superyacht manufacturers (who will be the most directly affected by the laws), which has seen the UN refrain from imposing such laws as yet. As a result, the US has taken affirmative action to put its own restrictive laws in place which should help to bring down harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides from the sizable boats.

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The American law states that all large boats manufactured after January 1^st will be required to be fitted with hefty apparatus which will convert nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and water, thus vastly reducing shipping pollution. A change has been on the horizon for some years, with the WWF clamouring for international shipping pollution cuts as far back as 2011.

Up until now, the restrictions have been resisted fiercely by the trade bodies of superyachts, who claimed that the rules would endanger the livelihood of their industry. Because the sizable equipment is too large to fit inside a standard engine room, they would be forced to compromise by losing a guest cabin, which they have argued would represent a “doomsday” scenario for the superyacht market.

Russia, too, has waded into the debate, strongly opposing any restrictive regulations. Of course, one of the most high profile Russians to own a superyacht is Chelsea FC owner and billionaire Roman Abramovich. Abramovich possesses a 160m gargantuan boat which is capable of hosting 36 passengers in its 18 cabins. Closer to home, U2 frontman Bono is the proud owner of the 60m vessel Kingdom Come, which has a 115,000 litre fuel capacity.

Frustrated with the inertia of the UN and global authorities to impose the regulations, the States have taken their own unilateral action. The laws will affect all boats over 24m which enter North American and US Caribbean waters from 2021.

Shipping World Lags Behind Automotive Industry

Much has been made of the cleanliness of our air and the need to reduce transport-related pollution in recent years, but the shipping world has all but escaped similar scrutiny. Admittedly, shipping emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide are dwarfed by automotive emissions, but vessels actually emit almost four times the amount of sulphur oxide as cars.

Meanwhile, a German report has claimed that as many as 60,000 deaths per year are caused by shipping pollution. It is also alleged that a single container ship emits as much carcinogenic and asthma-inducing chemicals as 50 million automobiles.

Clearly, something must be done to ensure that the shipping sector picks up its slack when it comes to pollution – and America has attempted to show the way by imposing its own legislation. Experts predict that other maritime areas will soon follow suit, including the Mediterranean.