The Implementation of Cold Ironing in the Port of Southampton - Dissertation Example

Some even leave their main engines running throughout. The term is generally thought to originate from the era when steamships were powered by coal, with ‘cold ironing’ referring to the fact that when the ships were in port, the fires feeding the boilers were no longer fed with coal, and so the iron engines eventually went cold. Today, cold ironing refers to the increasing trend for ships to be powered when in port by being connected to an electricity supply on the shore. This is mostly seen as a way to reduce harmful gas emissions from the ships’ engines when they are in port.

In recent decades, global trade has increased considerably year on year. In line with this, emissions from ocean-going ships have also increased, given that shipping is the main and most cost-effective way of transporting bulk goods internationally. Most ocean-going vessels afloat today use bunker oil, or heavy furnace oil – a diesel fuel that is responsible for a considerable proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is not just conventional greenhouse gases that are emitted.

Some research, as will be discussed below, has suggested that particulate matter (PM), released in large quantities by the burning of bunker fuel, leads directly to health complications and premature death. Burning bunker fuel also produces nitrous oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SOx), both of them toxic. Talley (2009) states that the bunker fuel used in some ships has a sulfur content of 27,000 parts per million, compared to 15 parts per million in the fuel used by cars, and that oceangoing vessels contribute 5-30% of the SOx in coastal areas (p.164). Therefore, to reduce the risks to people living close to large ports, the feasibility of cold ironing is one of the options being considered by maritime authorities across the world.

The Port of Southampton is one of the world’s major marine terminals. By value, it handles one-third of the United Kingdom’s trade with non-European Union countries and is the UK’s most important sea gateway, with 41 million tonnes of cargo handled in 2008 (ABP, 2010, p.9).