Reducing NOx emissions from ship exhaust

Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk and responsible for the premature deaths of an estimated 7 million people worldwide each year. Air pollution contributes to the global burden of air pollution-related disease, the World Health Organization reports. Nine out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of air pollutants.

Ship exhaust emissions contain three main pollutants: sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter. A University of Rochester study published 2018 in Nature magazine estimates the number of cases of childhood asthma a year due to ship emissions at 14 million and the number of premature deaths a year at 400,0001. To curb air pollution from ships, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted in 2008 the NOx Technical Code, Regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI.