Sweden prepares to ban discharge of scrubber washwater from 1 July 2025

The Swedish government is set to ban the discharge of scrubber washwater into the country’s territorial waters.

PHOTO: Port of Gothenburg in Sweden. Getty Images

The Swedish government has issued a proposal which aims to prohibit discharges from ships fitted with open-loop scrubbers beginning 1 July 2025.

Discharges from all scrubbers, which include closed-loop scrubbers, will be banned from 1 January 2029, according to the official statement.

"The ban is proposed to be introduced in two stages. It is proposed that the ban on emissions from ship scrubbers used in the open position be prohibited with effect from 1 July 2025. It is proposed that the ban on emissions from all types of scrubbers, i.e. even those used in closed mode, be prohibited with effect from 1 January 2029," the Government of Sweden said.

Scrubbers or exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) allow ships to comply with the International Maritime Organizations' 0.5% sulphur cap by capturing sulphur dioxide from exhaust gases. While the shipping and oil industries maintain that scrubbers are effective in mitigating pollution, opposition voices like the Clean Arctic Alliance argue that scrubbers are an outdated solution.

Open-loop scrubbers use seawater to clean the exhaust gas. The washwater is then released back into the sea. Closed-loop scrubbers use fresh water for cleaning instead of seawater.

While the EU lacks uniform legislation banning scrubber washwater discharge, many countries and ports within the union have already restricted these discharges in specific areas of their national waters.

In April, Denmark banned the discharge of washwater from open-loop scrubbers in the range of 22 km (12 nautical miles) from the Danish coastline, effective 1 July 2025.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online