What Can Be Done About Air Pollution In Ports And Shipping Terminals?

Freight shipping containers are stacked and ready for transport and export at the Port of Long ... [+] Beach, October 7, 1997 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)

It might surprise many people, but despite their proximity to the sea, many ports and shipping terminals around the world are hotbeds of air pollution.

The reasons for this are mainly to do with the trucks and vessels which visit the ports, which can have a big impact on those working in the ports and living nearby.

But what can be done about air pollution in ports and how does it tie in with the even larger issue of how the maritime sector can decarbonize?

The American Lung Association’s national senior director for clean air advocacy, Will Barrett, said ports are one of the biggest sources of air pollution in Southern California in an interview.

Barrett added the pollution comes from two main sources.

The first being the ships themselves, as they come in and out and port. If they ships cannot plug into a power source once docked, they leave the engines running, which he said can lead to a “tremendous level of pollution”.

And secondly, Barrett said air pollution also comes from the thousands of trucks which take goods into and out of the port on a daily basis.

He said the combination of these sources can lead to tremendous health burdens for those working in the ports and those living nearby.

“In California, there are estimates that the diesel exhaust from moving freight around is responsible for thousands of deaths every year, and these deaths are concentrated in those communities nearest the ports and other freight facilities,” said Barrett.

“These tend to be low-income communities, who are dealing with the over saturation of diesel exhaust and the associated health burdens.”

Dr. Afif El-Hasan, a paediatrician with Kaiser Permanente in Orange County, California, said many freight ships use fuel with a higher sulphur content, which can add to the amount of pollution they generate in an interview.

“Diesel gives off many different types of compounds, and some of them are also carcinogens,” said Dr. El-Hasan.

“And the issue with these particles is they get past the natural defences of the lungs, into the bloodstream and affect other parts of the body.

“These chemicals can lead to cardiovascular disease as well as, damage to the lungs themselves,” he told me.

One company addressing this challenge of reducing maritime emissions is NatPower Marine, which is investing £3 billion into a global network of 120 “clean ports” to electrify shipping and improve local air quality.

NatPower Marines chief executive, Stefano Sommadossi said while ports can be hubs of air pollution, they can also become a “hub for the solution” in an interview.

Sommadossi added this can be done through the electrification of vessels, first with a hybrid model similar to those being used in cars and trucks, and then fully electrified.

“Going fully electric is the cheapest solution for the shipping industry,” he told me.

“However, operators have to solve the ‘chicken and egg’ conundrum here, because, if they want to convert the fleets to fully electric, they need charging points.

“We are creating the first network dedicated to the electrification of ships, so operators the ships can solve this problem and migrate their fleets to full electric or hybrid electric.”

Another way to reduce emissions is through carbon capture and storage. Carbon Ridge has developed a modular onboard carbon capture and storage solutions for the maritime sector.

The company’s chief executive and founder, Chase Dwyer said its system is a “full-exhaust gas cleaning solution” for maritime vessels in an interview.

Dwyer added it substantially reduces carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide emissions and can be installed in a wide range of craft, from shipping containers to tugboats.

“In a lot of those cases, this solution could be able to decarbonize vessels by up to 90% of their total CO2 emissions and almost all of their other emissions,” said Dwyer.

Carbon Ridge recently announced a $9.5 million seed extension, with $15.5 million total funding raised to-date.

The round was led by Crosscut Ventures and Western Technology Investment (WTI).

The managing director and co-founder of Crosscut Ventures, Brian Garrett said Carbon Ridge hashave taken a “very pragmatic approach” to reducing emissions in an interview.

Garrett said both freight providers and boat owners are looking to clean up supply chains and achieve carbon neutral goals.

“When you have both supply and demand in an industry pushing hard to solve these problems and deliver solutions, there’s real potential,” added Garrett.

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