The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have said that shipping’s regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) should agree a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic during its environmental protection meeting in London this week.
The use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) for ship operations has already been phased out in the Southern Ocean and around Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic. The thick, toxic sludge is hard to clean up in the best of conditions. In the Arctic, with its ice, severe weather and limited capacity, effective clean-up is near impossible. Increased shipping in the Arctic means increased risk of a major spill
“There is some momentum behind taking action on heavy fuel oil,” said WWF Arctic spokesperson Andrew Dumbrille. “The US and Canada agreed this year to look at how best to address the risks from heavy fuel oil. We are telling them, and the other countries of the world, that the best way to address the risks is to bring in a ban on using it as a shipping fuel.”
They also believe that the IMO should shoulder some of the responsibility for reducing climate change.
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