Many ships found breaching pollution limits despite tighter controls

The FAAM research aircraft, used to monitor ship emissions, over the Solent off the Isle of Wight. Photograph: PA Images/Alamy

A new study has found that a significant proportion of ships are breaching air pollution limits.

Although the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set regulations for shipping pollution since 2005, it is hard to know what happens once ships are at sea.