Qinhuangdao, China's largest coal shipping port, has adopted a new regulation to prevent air pollution from ships, that came into effect this December. The rule states ships that emit "visible black smoke" for three minutes or longer will be punished.
In addition, incinerators are banned in ships off the waters of Qinhuangdao, the regulation said.
Priority will be given to the ships powered by fuel oil with sulphur content below 0.1 per cent m/m in entry, load and unload, and departure of the port, Xinhua reported.
"As the port and the urban area are connected seamlessly, ship emissions have become one of the important sources of air pollution in the city of Qinhuangdao," said Qinhuangdao Ecology and Environment Bureau deputy director Wang Xinzhi.
The number of merchant ships in and out of Qinhuangdao has reached 14,000 so far this year. It is estimated that the 24-hour emission of PM2.5 pollutants by a medium-sized containership is equivalent to the daily emission of 500,000 heavy trucks.
Source:HKSG GROUP
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