Pilot program to cut pollution from ships
Print Edition
CUTTING pollution from ships is the aim of a new pilot program being launched in the Yangtze River Delta, the Ministry of Transport said yesterday.
The first phase of the emission-reduction scheme, which is intended to improve air quality in Shanghai and its neighboring cities by reducing PM2.5 particles — fine particulates — by 10 percent, will begin on April 1.
According to the local transport commission, ship emissions account for 8 to 10 percent of Shanghai’s PM2.5 pollutants. Air pollution caused by ship emissions mainly results from the burning of fuel, which produces pollutants including sulfur dioxide, oxynitride, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
In the first phase of the program, vessels berthing at the major docks, including Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Nantong and Suzhou, will be told to use fuel oil with a lower sulfur content.
The measures taken in the first phase are expected to reduce PM2.5 emissions by 10 percent and sulfur oxide emissions by 18 percent.
After the impact of the first phase has been assessed, a second phase will be launched. At this point, vessels entering waters in the controlled area will be expected to use fuel oil with a sulfur content of no more than 0.5 percent, and when they are berthed, the fuel they use should have a sulfur content of no more than 0.1 percent.
It is expected that the second phase will cut PM2.5 emissions by more than 60 percent and sulfur oxide emissions by nearly 80 percent.
Gao Yiyi, a transport commission official, said the government will coordinate with fuel suppliers to ensure lower-emission fuel is available at port facilities.
This emission-reduction project will gradually expand to the Pearl River Delta and the Bohai Rim.
By 2020, the emission-reduction scheme is expected to cut vessel-borne sulfur oxide and particle emissions by 65 percent and 30 percent in all areas where it has been implemented.
Shanghai set the goal of decreasing the density of PM2.5 particles — a major contributor to air pollution — in its development blueprint.
Last month, Zhang Quan, director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, stressed: “It is inadequate for Shanghai to fight alone.”
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