Arctic: US Urged to Lead HFO Ban

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday August 18, 2014

US authorities should push for a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the Arctic, Kevin Harun, Arctic program director for the environmental group Pacific Environment, writes in an op-ed for industry news site Maritime Executive.

Noting that 50 billion tonnes of cargo per year could move through the Northeast Passage by 2020, Harun calls on U.S. special representative for the Arctic Admiral Robert Papp to take action to strengthen the proposed Polar Code, which is expected to be adopted this coming spring.

"The Arctic Council should adopt a resolution urging the IMO to prohibit the use of heavy fuel oil by shipping in the Arctic and near Arctic waters," he writes.

"This will produce a number of significant environmental benefits, including, among other things, the reduction of black carbon emissions and risk of spills that could severely impact the Arctic climate and the health of indigenous and other peoples living there."

A "substantial portion of traffic by large vessels" continues to use HFO, Harun claims, despite recognised problems that caused the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to ban its use in the Antarctic.

Pacific Environment argues that strongest provisions of the code, as currently written, are a ban on the discharge of oils, limitations on the discharge of chemicals, sewage, and garbage, and mandatory voyage planning to avoid marine mammals.

However, it says a number of crucial issues are not addressed, including the potential for a HFO spill and black carbon pollution, which promotes quicker melting of Arctic ice.

The group also faults provisions allowing non-ice class ships to operate in potentially hazardous conditions, as well as the fact that the code applies only to vessels on international voyages, not domestic traffic.

Some industry players, including Felix Tschudi, owner of the Tschudi Group shipping company, have argued against a ban on HFO in the region, saying it would lead vessels to choose to use the Suez, rather than the more-efficient Arctic route.