Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), the global RoRo shipping and factory-to-dealer logistics specialist, has launched a new company policy which prescribes that all vessels are to operate with fuel of <0.1% sulphur or equivalent at berth, in all ports across the globe.

Reducing sulphur emissions has been at the centre of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics environmental approach ever since the company’s foundation. For the past 11 years, WWL has operated with a voluntary policy limiting the average sulphur content in fuel to 1.5%, avoiding the release of ca 220.000 tonnes of sulphur to the atmosphere compared to the industry average. To put the figure in perspective, that is very close to the total amount of sulphur emitted in France in 2012.

But if the focus a decade ago was sulphur’s contribution to acidification, recent research has shown ever more clearly its human health impact, causing respiratory and cardiac deceases. The 0.1% sulphur legislation in ECA zones covering North America and the EU are a response to this. However, most ports around the world are not covered by such strict sulphur legislation. In WWL’s case, 49 of the company’s 79 main trading ports lie outside the designated ECAs, and looking at ports called occasionally the number is 23 of 24.

With knowledge comes responsibility. As a consequence, WWL has chosen to introduce a new sulphur policy that takes into account human health as well as the environment, limiting sulphur content at berth to <0.1% across all ports globally. Technically, this is achieved by shifting to Marine Gas Oil or through scrubbers.

Anna Larsson, WWL’s Global Head of Sustainability explains: “Human life is worth the same everywhere. If WWL can follow a <0.1% sulphur limit at berth in one part of the world, we can adhere to the same in all ports. This way, we can significantly reduce WWL’s impact on human health and environment where it matters the most.”

18th May 2016