Delay of Shipping SOx Law Could Endanger 200K Lives -Study
The implementation of a global low-sulphur fuel law for ships in 2020 would prevent 200,000 premature deaths globally, a health study by a group of researchers from the United States and Finland reveals.
A report in the Guardian quoting an unpublished International Maritime Organisation (IMO) study warns about deaths from lung cancer and heart disease. Fatalities from illnesses such as asthma were not covered by the leaked paper, which was based on shipping satellite data and modelling work.
“Delaying this action for five years would contribute to 200,000 extra premature deaths due to the toxic fumes, mainly in coastal communities in the developing world that barely benefit from global trade,” NGOs Seas at Risk said, adding that on-time implementation of cleaner ship fuel could avoid 134,650 premature deaths in Asia, 32,100 in Africa and 20,800 in Latin America.
The shipping industry is by far the world’s biggest emitter of sulphur with SOx levels in heavy fuel oils up to 3,500 times higher than those in current European diesel standards for vehicles. A single large cruise ship can reportedly burn as much fuel as whole towns, and emit more sulphur than 7m cars.
“A delay would ensure that health impacts from sulphur emissions will persist in coastal communities that are exposed, where shipping lanes are most intense and communities most densely populated,” Prof. James Corbett of University of Delaware, one of the leading authors of the study, said.
At the end of October, an IMO meeting in London will decide whether to cap the sulphur content of shipping fuels by 2020 or 2025. Current levels can reach 3.5% but the cap would limit them to 0.5%.
The 2020 deadline faces fierce resistance from the oil and gas industry association, IPIECA, and Bimco, a global shipping group, which argue that there is not enough low-sulphur fuel available to meet the global demand that the measure would spur.
