The world's ocean freight shipping companies recently called on international maritime authorities to exclude pollution that their vessels spew in bad weather from new regulations, a condition that would apply almost a third of the time in the Atlantic. But the effort failed Friday.
Under international laws due to come into force in 2023, all big vessels will be rated from A to E by how much carbon dioxide flows from their stacks for every mile traveled and ton carried. The idea is to incentivize owners to install cleaner technologies. Although the proposed rules are currently toothless, nation states might bring in penalties for high-polluting ships in the future.
