A ban on the dirtiest and most climate-damaging fuel for ships has entered into force in Arctic waters.
Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) is a thick but relatively cheap tar-like oil that is widely used in shipping around the world, especially in tankers.
However, HFO is particularly harmful in the Arctic, where the black carbon it releases when burned accelerates the melting of snow and ice.
Activists say the ban, while welcome, will have little immediate impact as a series of loopholes will allow the vast majority of ships to use the fuel until 2029.
HFO is produced from waste left over from oil refining and poses a huge threat to the oceans in general, but the Arctic in particular.
This sludge-like fuel is nearly impossible to clean up if a spill occurs.
In colder waters, experts say, the fuel does not break down, but sinks in lumps that remain in sediments and threaten fragile ecosystems.
From a climate perspective, this oil is considered particularly dangerous because, when burned, it not only produces large amounts of planet-warming gas, but also spews out soot particles called black carbon.
“Black carbon creates a kind of double whammy in the Arctic,” said Dr. Sian Prior of the activist group Clean Arctic Alliance.
“It attracts heat when it’s in the atmosphere, and then it settles on the snow and ice and also speeds up the melting.”
Oil was banned from being used or transported in Antarctica in 2011.
Environmentalists have pushed for the extension of the restriction to northern waters for years, eventually convincing countries participating in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to enact the ban as early as 2021.
The restrictions are now coming into force in Arctic waters – and while campaigners agree it’s progress, they believe there are too many loopholes to limit the impact.
Under the regulations, ships that have a “protected fuel tank” will be exempt from the ban.
Countries that border the Arctic will also be able to exempt their own ships from the ban in their own territorial waters.
One of the major players in the region is Russia, which has over 800 ships operating in northern waters. They are not implementing the new IMO regulation.
These exemptions will last until 2029 – their impact is likely to be significant, with the International Clean Transport Council estimating that around 74% of ships using HFO will be able to continue to do so.
Some observers believe that increased efforts to extract oil in the Arctic could lead to an increase in the amount of HFO used in these waters instead of a decrease.
“Oil and gas tankers are the real engine, they use a lot of HFO,” said Dr. WWF’s Elena Tracy.
“We will see more oil and gas development projects in certain places, for example in the Russian Arctic, and the increase in the use of LNG tankers there will also lead to an increase in HFO volumes.”
Activists argue that alternative fuels exist and hope that the shipping industry and Arctic maritime states will take the ban seriously.
They point to Norway as an example of what can be achieved.
The Norwegian government has already implemented a strong HFO ban around the Svalbard archipelago.
Activists say this type of action is needed right now – because the Arctic does not have the luxury of time.
“Scientists are already saying that we will probably see the first ice-free days in the Arctic in the 2030s, some even say as early as 2030,” said Dr. Prior.
“We really need action in the next few years to start reducing black carbon emissions and start reducing the use of these oils.
“We really urge countries to move faster. We are calling on the shipping industry to do the right thing.”