Swedish Government Progresses with Ban on Ship Scrubbers

The announcement is very welcome.

- A Positive Development!

The Swedish government is moving forward with a ban on discharges from ship scrubbers in Swedish waters. 

“The announcement is very welcome, it is an important issue for our shipping business, but above all it is an urgent announcement to improve the marine environment in general and not least in the sensitive Baltic Sea,” says Helene Samuelsson, Vice President of Communications at Soya Group, which owns Wallenius Lines and Wallenius Marine.

Reducing air emissions by moving pollutants to the sea is not a sustainable solution. Scrubber technology reduces sulphur emissions from ships' funnels, but heavily polluted, acidified and toxic wash water is instead released below the surface into the sea. In practice, the ships' chimneys are turned upside down, so that most of the hazardous substances and particles in the exhaust gases are washed straight into the sea.

Soya Group and its shipping companies Wallenius Lines and Wallenius Marine have been pushing for a ban, along with several other shipping companies, marine scientists and other stakeholders.

Both the previous and the current government have received several research reports and investigations that have concluded that the discharge of scrubber water is a significant environmental problem and on 27 June 2024, Andreas Carlsson (KD) presented the long-awaited news that the government is now moving forward with a ban in Swedish waters.

Read more on the government website: https://www.regeringen.se/pressmeddelanden/2024/06/forbud-mot-utslapp-fran-fartygsskrubbrar-i-svenskt-vatten-foreslas-i-promemoria/

For further information, please contact:
Helene Samuelsson, VP Group Communications, Soya Group, +46 70 450 12 22