Maritime scrubbers are causing significant ecological damage: study

As maritime regulations tighten on air emissions, many shipowners have adopted scrubbers to continue using cost-effective heavy fuel oil. While these systems allow compliance with emissions standards by cleaning exhaust gases before release, they also produce acidic and environmentally harmful wastewater. Analysis of global scrubber activity up to 2022 reveals that 51% of scrubber-equipped vessels reached economic breakeven, accumulating a surplus of €4.7bn ($5.07bn). However, the discharge from these scrubbers has caused over €680m in marine ecotoxicity damage in the Baltic Sea, highlighting a significant environmental cost against private financial gains. (Nature)