By Paul Homewood
The Mail exposes the latest climate scam:
Shipping firms are preparing to invest billions of pounds into controversial machines that critics say will pump our oceans with polluted water.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates that up to 5,000 vessels will be fitted with so-called scrubbers in the coming years, at a cost of up to $10 million (£7.6 million) per ship.
Scrubbers stop sulphur emissions from being pumped into the air through exhaust pipes – but the vast majority of the devices then divert the waste into the sea.
Opponents say this can be hugely damaging to sea life, with studies showing that scrubbing technology can lead to water acidification, threaten marine ecosystems and harm coral, algae and shellfish.
Goldman Sachs, known as the ‘Vampire Squid’ for its grip on the banking market, has identified them as a way for multinationals to save money on fuel.
This is because scrubbers allow shipping firms to get round strict regulations that from 2020 will restrict the use of cheaper, ‘dirty’ fuels. Companies including Carnival, the FTSE 100-listed owner of P&O and Princess Cruises, have already started installing the technology on their vessels ahead of the crackdown.
One shipping industry boss last night compared the use of scrubbers with the Volkswagen ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, where the German carmaker was found to have misled regulators and customers by hiding nitrogen oxide emissions during vehicle tests.
He also suggested firms using scrubbing technology –which has been banned in some countries, including Belgium – are cynically putting profits before the environment.
Patrick Rodgers, the boss of Euronav, a large tanker company that is refusing to install scrubbers on its ships, said: ‘I think when the public wakes up to the industrialisation of pollution from the atmosphere to the ocean, the industry will face as big a backlash as VW did during its emissions scandal. Scrubber users have been seduced by the prospect of making super profits from being able to use what they think will be cheaper, dirty fuel.’
He added: ‘Using scrubbers faces a simple test: could you justify to your family that you’re meeting pollution regulations by pumping sulphuric acid and other equally nasty by-products into the oceans?
‘I don’t see how it makes sense to solve one pollution problem by creating another.’
New International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, which come into force in 2020, will prohibit ships from using fuel that is made up of more than 0.5 per cent sulphur, down from 3.5 per cent currently. Fuel with such low sulphur levels is up to 50 per cent more expensive, experts say.
However, there is a loophole in the rules. Ships will be allowed to keep using cheaper, grubbier fuels which contain more than 0.5 per cent of the chemical if they have scrubbers fitted.
In a report seen by The Mail on Sunday, Goldman Sachs estimates that the cost of installing a scrubber is between $5 million (£3.8 million) and $10 million (£7.6 million). It was reported in May that the US bank is offering to help companies finance the installation, but Goldman now denies this claim.
Malcolm Latarche, a maritime expert at ShipInsight, calculates that, at those prices, firms which install scrubbers will make their money back within a year. Ned Molloy, an independent oil analyst, said: ‘The attitude in the industry is that this is allowed by the rules, and it’s a more profitable route, so why not?’
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November 12, 2018 at 05:00AM
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