Infographics

Scrubbers turn an air pollution problem into an ocean pollution problem. How does that work?

If shipping was a country it would be the 6th biggest emitter of CO2.

The IMO’s Arctic HFO Regulation will not protect the Arctic for nearly a decade.

Waivers will undermine the International Maritime Organization’s Arctic heavy fuel oil ban.

Devices installed onboard ships to reduce sulfur oxide emissions, allowing ships to burn dirty, less-expensive fuels, like heavy fuel oil. Pollutants scrubbed from the engine exhaust gas are redirected into the ocean where they can potentially harm wildlife and people.

A series of six infographics highlighting the problem and threats posed by black carbon from emissions from shipping, with emphasis on the Arctic.

Download Infographic: Heavy Fuel Oil Spills – Case Studies of a Global Problem  

Research by the International Council on Clean Transportation found that loopholes in IMO’s draft regulation means that exemptions to the ban and the allocation of waivers by central Arctic coastal states will allow up to 74% of HFO-fueled ships to continue using HFO in the Arctic until mid-2029. As a result, only 30% of HFO carriage as fuel and 16% of its use would be banned when the regulation comes into effect in mid-2024.

Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is shipping’s dirtiest fuel – almost impossible to clean up following a spill, and produces high levels of pollution when used by ships. The Arctic is warming at twice the global average. Between 2015 and 2019, HFO use in the Arctic increased 75%. This infographic demonstrates how HFO has no placed in the Arctic.

Indigenous leaders are highlighting heavy fuel oil (HFO) and the potential impacts to food security, culture, and ways of life for communities in a changing Arctic.