Study examines ships’ sulphur emissions

Emissions from ships are an increasingly important source of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) as controls lag behind those on power stations and other land-based sources (ENDS Report 387, p 24 ).

If shipping traffic grows as predicted, it will be responsible for 28% of UK sulphur deposition by 2020 - up from 9% in the study’s 2002 baseline.

The international MARPOL convention already restricts the sulphur content of bunker fuels used in the North Sea to 1.5%. Cutting the limit to 1% would enhance the downward trend in sulphur deposition, reducing overall levels in 2020 by an extra 6% and shipping’s contribution to around 20%, the study estimates.