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Position Statement by the Clean Arctic Alliance – HFO-Free Arctic: Ban Heavy Fuel Oil from Arctic Shipping (Danish version)

The use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) by vessels operating in the Arctic poses a major risk to the Arctic marine environment. It produces harmful emissions that negatively impact the global climate, threatens the food security, livelihood and way of life of Arctic communities and produces emissions that impact human health. As the use of HFO is expected to rise as vessel traffic in the Arctic increases, the Clean Arctic Alliance strongly advocates the phasing out of the use of HFO as the most effective mitigation strategy as a matter of priority.

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Position Statement by the Clean Arctic Alliance – HFO-Free Arctic: Ban Heavy Fuel Oil from Arctic Shipping (Icelandic version)

The use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) by vessels operating in the Arctic poses a major risk to the Arctic marine environment. It produces harmful emissions that negatively impact the global climate, threatens the food security, livelihood and way of life of Arctic communities and produces emissions that impact human health. As the use of HFO is expected to rise as vessel traffic in the Arctic increases, the Clean Arctic Alliance strongly advocates the phasing out of the use of HFO as the most effective mitigation strategy as a matter of priority.

Ecological, economic and social costs of marine/coastal spills of fuel oils (refinery residuals)

A report by Tim Deere-Jones

The growing demands for shorter, quicker and less expensive sea routes around the northern hemisphere coupled with Arctic warming is generating a significant increase in vessel traffic through Arctic waters. This report offers a brief review of the behaviour and fate of both heavy fuel oil (HFO) and medium fuel oil (MFO) spills in polar, sub-polar and similar cold water marine environments. It also offers a brief review of the impacts of such spills and the relative “costing” of some of the impact parameters of such spills.

Risks & challenges of Heavy Fuel Oil use in the Arctic

An infographic by the European Climate Foundation

Increased shipping activities and changeable shipping conditions provide the backdrop of this comprehensive and visual representation of the many threats facing the Arctic environment, from heavy fuel oil spill, with catastrophic long-lasting consequences on this remote and vulnerable ecosystem, local indigenous populations’ health and food security to illegal waste sludge dumping. Increased Black Carbon and other air pollutants emissions only accelerate climate change and add to the problem of ice melt.

Rise in Arctic Shipping Traffic is Bad News for Black Carbon Emissions

Black Carbon infographic

An infographic by the Clean Arctic Alliance

As new shipping routes open in the Arctic and traffic increases, Black Carbon (BC) emissions from combustion of heavy fuel oil (HFO) further exacerbate the melting of ice and increases the cause of health risks, shipping incidents, and their associated economic cost.  There are cleaner solutions available.