Group Urges Ban on Bunker Fuel in Arctic

Melting ice opens the Arctic to increased shipping.

European nongovernmental organisation Transport & Environment recommends that the use and transportation of bunker fuel in the Arctic be banned because of both pollution caused by its combustion and the risk of spills.

"Shipping currently uses the dirtiest fuel of any transport sector," the organisation writes in a new paper, "Troubled waters: How to protect the Arctic from the growing impact of shipping."

"The use and the carriage of heavy fuel oil has already been banned in the Antarctic for environmental reasons; this regulation should also apply in the Arctic."

The paper also argues that the shipping community must address black carbon emissions, which can increase warming and melting by darkening snow and ice, and that regulations are needed to minimise risks involved in non ice-class vessels that are likely to operate in Arctic routes as the sea ice melts.

The International Maritime Organisation has been working since 2008 on a "Polar Code" to regulate shipping in Arctic waters, but drafting the code is taking longer than planned, and the IMO said early this year that it won't be in place until 2013 at the earliest, CBC News reported in March.

The Transport & Environment paper warns that the situation in the Arctic could become a vicious circle, as arctic melting allows industry and government forces to use the area for oil and gas production, mining, shipping, and tourism, while those activities are likely to contribute to further climate change.

"The Arctic region is already warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the planet and this trend is expected to accelerate as global warming intensifies," the organisation writes.

Noting that that most ships active in the Arctic arrive or depart from an European Union (EU) port, Transport & Environment calls on the EU to "muster the political will" to push for environmental protection in the area.