Polluting Scrubber Voyages 2023

The use of scrubbers in marine vessels has proven devastating to coastal communities. Any pollution a scrubber “scrubs” from a ship’s exhaust is often just dumped into the ocean and can there cause irreparable harm. The discharge of sulfur oxides (SOx) from ship scrubbers, for example, has negative impacts on marine life and ecosystems. Scrubber wastewater also contains other pollutants, including cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals and particulate matter. These further contribute to environmental damage.
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That’s not all. Scrubber wastewater is acidic and leads to the acidification of seawater, which harms marine organisms such as shellfish, plankton, and coral. Acidification can also affect the overall health of marine ecosystems by disrupting the food chain and altering the distribution and abundance of marine species.

Despite these concerns, many companies are still choosing to use scrubbers. This is because scrubbers can reduce fuel costs. Scrubber equipped ships can run on less expensive, high sulphur fuel instead of the more expensive, but less polluting low sulphur fuel. Of course, any savings come at the expense of the environment. This list summarizes some of this usage. Companies that are willing to pollute the environment just to save a little money need to be held accountable.