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Committees - Marine & Aviation Pollution

Marine Smoke Pollution Law

Chapter 313: Shipping and Port Control Ordinance

Section 50: Emission of Smoke from Vessels

Version Date: 30th June 1997

(1) Subject to subsection (2), no vessel in the waters of Hong Kong shall emit smoke in such quantity as to be a nuisance.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the emission of smoke in circumstances affecting the safety of life

(3) If subsection (1) is contravened, the owner and master of the vessel commit an offence and each of them is liable for a first offence to a fine of $10000 and for a second or subsequent offence to:

Section: 49 In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires- "smoke" ( 煙霧 ) includes soot, ash, grit and gritty particles emitted in smoke or steam. a fine of $20000.

Chapter 548: Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinance - Gazette Number: L.N. 282 of 2006

Section 51: Emission of Smoke from Local Vessel

Version Date: 2nd January 2007

(1) Subject to subsection (2), no local vessel in the waters of Hong Kong shall emit smoke in such quantity as to be a nuisance.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the emission of smoke in circumstances affecting the safety of life or of the vessel.

(3) If subsection (1) is contravened, the owner of the local vessel, his agent and the coxswain of the vessel commit an offence and each of them is liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine at level 3 and for any subsequent offence to a fine at level 4.

In response to CTA queries, the Justice Department has replied:

The Marine Department has adopted the Ringelmann Chart to gauge smoke emission from vessels. Marine Department officers carry out visual monitoring of the exhaust of vessels and spot checks on vessels within Hong Kong waters. Upon sufficient evidence of excessive dark smoke emission, the Marine Department will initiate prosecution under Cap 313 or Cap 548.

Emission of excessive dark smoke aside, Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973/78, entitled Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships, sets limits on sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. The Government is preparing for the implementation of Annex VI in Hong Kong through local legislation.

In response to CTA queries, the Marine Department has replied:

1. New legislation already enacted/in force
   The Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinance (LVO), Cap. 548 entered into force on 2 January 2007. Under Section 51 of the LVO, no local vessel in the waters of Hong Kong shall emit smoke in such quantity as to be a nuisance. The existing Shipping and Port Control Ordinance, Cap. 313 has a similar provision in its Section 50. However its application is on all vessels except local vessels in the waters of HK whereas the LVO is applicable to local vessels only.
2. New legislation in the pipeline
   The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation, a subsidiary regulation of the Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Ordinance, Cap. 413, passed the negative vetting of LegCo in November this year. Pending completion of the ratification formality with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), this regulation is expected to enter into force around mid 2008. In short, this regulation is the local legislation to give effect to Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention), which imposes standards and control on the emission of ozone-depleting substances, NOx, SOx, volatile organic compounds from ships, and regulates fuel oil quality as well as the use of shipboard incinerators.
3. MARPOL initiatives affecting HK
   The IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee has an on-going agenda in amending MARPOL Annex VI to further tighten-up the emission from ships. The focus being on further reducing SOx level, either by imposing strict limit in the sulfur content of fuel or by new technology in engine exhaust treatment. The issue has caused heated debate between the shipping and the petroleum industries, and further research is needed before a more effective approach can be agreed. Consideration is also being given to reducing the emission of particulate matters. Once adopted, the new MARPOL Annex VI amendments will affect HK ships trading worldwide and other ships within HK waters.
4. MARPOL initiatives with PRC
   At present Mardep's discussion with PRC authorities is mainly surrounding the implementation of the new Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation on mainland river-trade ships trading to HK. However, taking the HK Government as a whole, in 2002 the HKSARG has reached a consensus with the Guangdong Provincial Government to reduce the emission levels of 4 major air pollutants by 20%-55% by 2010, using 1997 as the base year. To ensure delivery of the emission reduction targets, both sides have jointly developed the Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Management Plan setting out a series of comprehensive measures to reduce air emissions in the region.
5. Number of trained Smoky Vessel Spotter Cadre volunteers so far
   For the SVSC, so far a total of 48 volunteers (out of an initial 220 Smoky Vehicle Spotter Cadre volunteers) have been trained in two training sessions conducted by MD in November 2007.
6. Future plans re SVSC volunteers/training
   A third training session will be conducted in 11 December 2007 and 23 volunteers have been enrolled to participate in this session. (This leaves a further 150 or so volunteers to train.)

Aviation Smoke Pollution Law

Chapter 311: Air Pollution Control Ordinance

Section 3: Application

Version Date: 30th June 1997

Except to the extent provided by section 43(1)(p) {fuel specification GSS} nothing in this Ordinance shall apply to any air pollutant emitted from any furnace or engine used in the propulsion of any vessel, railway locomotive or aircraft. (Amended 2 of 1991 s. 4)

However, the Civil Aviation Department is responsible for ensuring that aircraft in HK are airworthy and engine maintenance is strictly monitored. Any aircraft reported for emitting black smoke will be investigated to ensure that it is airworthy and correctly maintained; GSS.

Clear The Air Marine and Aviation Strategy Plan

Marine Objectives

1. Continue to encourage Mardep, assisted by EPD, to introduce a “Smoky Vessel Spotting” scheme.
2. Continue to encourage HKG to legislate for environmentally friendly fuel to be used by all vessels in HK waters e.g. ultra low sulphur diesel.
3. Continue to encourage Mardep to introduce a policy of Alternative Marine Power (AMP) or “Cold Ironing” * for all vessels berthing in HK.
4. Continue to encourage HKG to reach an agreement with neighbouring maritime provinces to allow HK and international law in respect of polluting vessels to apply to their vessels in HK waters

Alternative Marine Power - Cold Ironing

One of the methods to control ship emissions while a ship is in port is to use shore-supplied electricity to run lights, heating, air conditioning and hot water for the ship’s crew. This method of supplying electricity is called Alternative Marine Power (AMP). Another commonly used name for AMP is “Cold Ironing”. A heavy wire, resembling an extension cord, is extended from the pier, plugged into the ship’s receptacle and power is supplied to the ship to operate its machinery, but not its main engines. This allows the ship to shut down the diesel engines that normally drive the ship’s electrical generators. When the diesel engines are not operating, the ship’s emissions are greatly reduced.

The AMP system is a good system but most ships need to be retrofitted to use it and the Port area infrastructure must be in place to provide the additional electricity. Some ships are not readily adaptable to AMP because they need the ships machinery (pumps) to unload their cargo. Tankers are a good example of such ships. On the other hand, container ships are not required to use ships machinery to unload/load their cargo. Cargo loading and unloading operations are accomplished by using shore side container cranes.

When tankers unload their cargo they use large pumps. For the most part these pumps are powered by steam turbines. (99.3% of the worlds tanker fleet uses the steam turbine pumping system.) An apt analogy is the operation of an automobile - the pump is similar to the drive wheels and the turbine is similar to the motor. Tankers are built with large diesel engines for propulsion. They have boilers to produce steam in order to drive the cargo pump turbines moving the cargo to the shore tanks. It is not possible to retrofit this system to use AMP. A retrofit of this kind would require a complete rebuilding of the tanker’s machinery system and would be cost prohibitive. Pacific L. A. Marine Terminal LLC Partner’s own studies indicate there is no trend in the tanker industry to retrofit presently operating tankers to accommodate AMP.

Two major oil companies have built, or are currently constructing, a total of 9 diesel electric powered tankers. These tankers were specifically designed to operate exclusively between Valdez, Alaska and the west coast of the United States. These tankers are readily adaptive to AMP because they call at the same ports and at the same terminals. However, if they were going to use AMP, the port terminals will require retrofitting and some of the tankers would have to install additional equipment.

Most tankers are owned by independent tanker owners. The owners rent the tankers to oil companies to transport the crude oil and refined products. These tankers are built to trade around the world and not necessarily built for one type of trade. They are designed to operate in all kinds of weather and conduct cargo operations at all kinds of facilities. These facilities can vary from well placed terminals or to operate alongside another tanker to transfer cargo at sea. For this variety of service, tankers are built for reliability and safe operation. The steam turbine driven pump is a safe, proven operation and, therefore, tanker owners will probably not alter the design of their tankers for other forms of machinery.

Aviation Objectives

1. Continue to monitor visible aircraft pollution at CLK International Airport, particularly in respect of cargo and logistics aircraft.
2. Build a small cadre of interested CTA volunteers to implement 1. above.
3. *Monitor international developments in respect of aviation pollution.

Report Sounds Warning Over Aircraft Pollution

September 21st 2005 Guardian Limited

Pollution from aircraft is set to grow so rapidly that all homeowners, car drivers and businesses will have to reduce their carbon dioxide output to zero for levels to remain safe, a new study warned today.

The study, carried out by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, says that even if the growth in air travel were halved, the rest of the economy would need to cut greenhouse gas emissions far beyond the government's target of 60% by 2050.

"If the UK government does not curb aviation growth, all other sectors of the economy will eventually be forced to become carbon neutral," Dr Kevin Anderson, who led the study, said.

His colleague Dr Simon Shackley said the failure of global governments to think about air travel meant the proposed targets would not achieve safe pollution levels.

"No one is underestimating the challenge of implementing policies to deal with climate change," he said. "But the failure of all governments to think about international aviation and shipping has led to a serious underestimation of the actions necessary."

Under current regulations, shipping and aviation are not considered to be part of a country's CO2 output, but the report - entitled Decarbonising the UK - wants this to be changed as soon as possible.

It says aviation is particularly polluting because planes burn vast amounts of kerosene fuel at high altitudes.

The rapid growth in aircraft pollution stems from the boom in budget airlines, fuelled by increasing passenger demand. Government officials have predicted that UK air passenger numbers will increase from 180 million to 475 million over the next 25 years.

The government target of a 60% cut by 2050 is based on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere described by scientists as safe if dangerous climate change is to be avoided. However, recent research suggests this target may have to be increased to 90%.

The study, carried out over a five-year period, sets out steps the government and industry need to take to cut CO2 emissions over the next 45 years.

One idea is to introduce citizen's carbon permits, which would give everyone a set limit for the CO2 they can produce.
A tax on aviation fuel could be introduced to limit air travel, but the environment minister Elliot Morley today said there was no evidence that this would be effective.

"People will simply pay the tax and continue to travel, and we won't actually stop the growth," he told BBC Breakfast.
"I actually think there are other ways of doing it. The most effective one is to include aviation within carbon trading schemes, so there is an absolute limit on the amount of emissions from the aviation sector."

The Tyndall Centre report is the first to combine greenhouse gases from the UK's industry sector with those from air, sea and land transport.

It includes different perspectives from energy analysts, engineers, economists and social and environmental scientists, and its key conclusions were:

• Policies for reducing energy demand are a more flexible tool than implementing low carbon supplies.
• The government must implement and enforce minimum energy standards.
• Improvements in energy efficiency can dramatically decarbonise many sectors.
• Supplying low carbon energy is both technically and economically viable.
• A low carbon society does not necessarily preclude increases in personal travel.
• International aviation and marine emissions must be included in carbon reduction targets.