Open-loop scrubbers are designed to extract sulfurs that are collected from the exhaust fumes of ships, particularly those that run on heavy oil and fuel. Shipping companies have spent so much money on these devices to ensure that the fumes are collected when they should be before they cause the ships to stop working. More than $12 billion dollars have been invested in the installation of such devices to ships. The companies' goal is to meet the standards and help reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has required vessels to have these devices installed. The vessels with installed open-loob scubbers were able to pass the standards of IMO. Though air pollution maybe has been reduced, sadly, water pollutants are another issue.
About 3,756 ships have installed open-loob scrubbers. Out of this sheer number, only 23 of the vessels have installed a closed-loop device that does not release the sulfur into the water. Instead, the extracted sulfur is collected and properly discharged in a safe disposal activity.
A bunch of sulphur collected from the ships do not magically disappeared—these have been moved from the exhaust and rerouted to the tube leading them into the water. Not only does this process increase the levels of pollutants at sea, but it also contributes to carbon dioxide emissions increase. This shift from the air to the water brings about devastating results to wildlife, not only in British waters but also to the rest of the world.
"The increase in the water waste will only create sediments around ports and could cause a toxic effect on living things underwater," said Lucy Gilliam, an environment advocate on Transport and Environment, an NGO based in Brussels. "The waters in the North Sea and some parts of the Channel, the quality of the waters have been heavily degraded."
The wildlife becomes vulnerable. The pollutants released into the water will cause massive deaths among species and this could tip the balance of the ecosystem. The existing criteria followed by the IMO somehow created this alternative for shipping companies. Some industry players think of an alternative. Sadly, the inaction would result in coral bleaching, making conditions of the sea around the world even more problematic.
The shipping industry has indeed made it possible for products, services, and people to reach different areas in the world, but it has also contributed to the pollution that is getting around—both on land and in water. Unless authorities will look into this issue at hand, the practice of releasing surfur into the waters will continue and would make the environmental conditions far worse than people are prepared for.
