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The 15 countries that have signed and ratified the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) agreed to strictly control discharges from scrubbers, which clean emission gas from ships, when convening a ministerial meeting in Vigo, Spain late last month.
Discharges from open-loop scrubbers will be banned in internal waters and port areas across the North-East Atlantic by July 2027. Additionally, those from closed-loop scrubbers will be prohibited by January 2029.
The OSPAR Convention has been signed and ratified by Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. as well as the EU.
To completely eliminate marine ecosystem contamination from discharge from scrubbers, most of the 15 nations have actively promote discharge bans in their 12-nautical-mile territorial waters. At the recent meeting, however, they failed to achieve a full consensus. They, as such, proposed discharge bans in internal waters and port areas across the North-East Atlantic.
To completely solve contamination issues from discharges from scrubbers, the OSPAR Convention members intend to take enhanced relevant measures by 2027.
