European Parliament votes to phase out open-loop scrubbers

A European Parliament (EP) environment committee has voted to drop a proposal to ban open-loop scrubbers and instead has backed a gradual phase out.

A sitting of the ENVI committee last week discussed banning open-loop scrubbers, which discharge directly into sea water, within the European Union.

The proposal argued that open-loop scrubbers damaged the marine environment and only “sustainable solutions” should be used to reduce sulphur emissions from ships.