PEOPLE POWER: CLEANING UP AIR IN THE MED'S PORTS

Pollution in Europe’s largest ports is making people sick. The solution? Electrification, regulation, more wind — and collaboration.

BY AGOSTINO PETRONI

On a gloomy December day, seagull calls fill the windy air above Rome's Civitavecchia port. Standing on the pier is Maurizio Rocchi, 73, proudly pointing to the remains of an ancient Roman fort, and then, upset, to a towering transatlantic cruise ship just behind it, releasing clouds of black smoke into the sky.

The Mediterranean Sea is a small pond compared to the rest of the oceans, yet about 20% of the world's seaborne trade passes through it. The vessels' fuel combustion releases dangerous pollutants into the air, such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particles of dust. Several scientific studies published in the last ten years show the industry's devastating impact on the health of millions living on Mediterranean coasts, especially near its largest ports. 

"People who live here get all the fumes from the ships," Rocchi says of the neighborhoods facing the Civitavecchia port. Standing next to him is Dario Menditto, a 52-year-old high school chemistry teacher. He agrees. During the summer, when ferries, cruises and shipping vessels crowd the port day and night, Menditto says he couldn't open his windows because of the acrid smell of exhaust fumes.

A recent study estimated that fumes from large transportation ships caused 60,000 premature deaths worldwide in 2015. Deaths in Civitavecchia, one of Italy's busiest ports, are included in the statistics.

"We have seen an increase in oncological illnesses here compared to the rest of the region," Menditto says, mentioning family members or friends living near the port who are sick. 

Anna Gerometta, the president of Cittadini per L'Aria, an NGO campaigning for stricter pollution regulations for the maritime industry, blames much of the problem on the "lurid" heavy fuel oil used by vessels. 

"When it comes to land transportation many regulations have been adopted, which have gradually — and significantly — reduced emissions. This has absolutely not happened for maritime transportation," she said.

Worried for their community's health, Menditto, Rocchi and Gerometta contribute as activists to a larger coalition of European NGOs that, in recent years, have been battling to regulate the impact of marine traffic both in the Mediterranean and on people living in coastal cities. 

They look at places like the port of Hamburg, where pier electrification reduced air pollution; or Venice, which, after banning cruise ships in 2021, reduced sulfur emissions by 80%. But they also look further into the promises of a few projects and studies working on reviving wind propulsion technology for large vessels.

As more goods and people are transported on the container ships, ferries and cruise ships that keep getting larger, activists and regulators know that striking a balance between transport efficiency while preserving human health is a necessity but it’s not an easy –– or inexpensive –– goal to reach.

In 2022, under European Union directives, Italy pledged some $700 million in incentives and reconstruction to support zero-emission boats in the country’s ports, but the effects of these efforts have yet to be seen. 

Members of the local group Livorno Porto Pulito came together in May 2023 to advocate for cleaner ports in their hometown. They are just some of the many people living in port cities that are working with local institutions to improve air quality. Photo courtesy of Livorno Porto Pulito.

LARGE VESSEL POLLUTION

Heavy fuel oil is a waste product from refining petroleum. It is black, tarry and burns at high temperatures. While its use is banned in European ports, it is still widely used on open seas because it's cheap, trading at around 0.4 euros per kilogram compared to 1.7 euros per liter for Diesel used in cars.

Yet burning heavy fuel oil at sea doesn't spare people on land — according to Gerometta, the fumes can still reach coastal and inland towns. When entering a port or waiting to unload or load for the next trip, large vessels must use a Diesel-like fuel containing a maximum of 0.1% sulfur. To her, this percentage is still unfairly high compared to other industries.

“...it is possible to sum up all the best existing technologies to reduce consumption significantly."

"Cars passing 50 meters from the seafront must use a fuel that has 100 times less sulfur content," says Luca Ribechini from Associazione Livorno Porto Pulito, an organization fighting for cleaner air in the port of Livorno, Italy. His home faces the Livorno port, and he's worried about the growing number of cruise ships and old ferry boats stopping in his town. 

"Sadly, my home is often invaded by black dust. I know the serious risks I face," he continues. Many fellow residents struggle to come to terms with the health implications of such pollution because "they are used to rightly considering the port as an opportunity for work and wealth.". (Ports are a source of pride and identity for most maritime communities. The activists interviewed for this article are much aware of that and know that what should change is how ports are run.)

But large vessels do not only pollute port towns while docking or departing. The mere existence of such boats in port comes at the expense of clean air. That is true especially when it comes to cruise liners, which are floating cities that carry thousands of passengers. Cruise ships need to keep their lights on, cool rooms, and power kitchens even while docked — all activities that require electricity, and therefore, combustion.

A team of scientists ran a study on a 15-years-timespan set of data from 71,362 people in the Civitavecchia area, which revealed that people who lived within 500 meters of the port had a higher risk of lung cancer mortality and neurological diseases.

Lisa Bauleo, a researcher at the Italian National Institute of Health and a co-author of the study, says that the concentration of harmful substances like arsenic found in people living in the area matched the scientists' model for fume dispersion from the port's ships. Heavy metals coming from the ships’ fumes were then found in humans. 

"It is tough for a parent to give their child a glass of dirty water," says Cristiana Paoletti, an architect who moved to the port of Ancona, on Italy’s East coast, in 2005, seeking a place close to the sea to raise her children. "But, unfortunately, we make our children breathe air that is actually dirty."

She lives 200 meters away from the ferries bound for Greece and Croatia, with a son who has developed asthma. 

RUNNING CLEANER BOATS

One of the main challenges to running more energy-efficient boats is longevity, which is counted in decades, if not half-centuries. The world's average age for cargo ships is 21.9 years. The older the boat, the more it pollutes. Not only that, retrofitting an old ship to meet new emissions standards can be very costly. 

Many ports are already taking big steps towards cleaning up the air. This illustration by Italian artist Sonia Ligorio shows a scenario of what a cleaner port city might look like in the near future. 

Dario Bocchetti, responsible for energy efficiency and innovation Research and Development at Grimaldi Lines, an Italian private shipping company, says they have been working to make their boats more efficient.

Grimaldi's boats, famous in Italy for ferrying passengers to the island of Sardinia, count on a fleet of more than 130 ships, 20 of which carry colossal lithium batteries to cut emissions, advertised to have "zero emissions in port."

Back in Civitavecchia, Dario Menditto points at one of their zero-emission vessels spitting out black smoke from its chimneys. "To me, it sounds like greenwashing. There is smoke coming out."

Bocchetti explains that the boat has zero emissions only for the first three hours; and then, in the absence of dock electrification, they have to turn on the engines. The 700 million euro plan by the Italian government will focus on just this issue: electrifying its main commercial piers to provide electricity to zero-emission boats.

"We always look for the best technologies available, even if it’s expensive to experiment with lowering emissions," Bocchetti said. He says Grimaldi has been using techniques such as air bubbles to create a protective cushion between the hull and the water, lighter paints to increase cruising efficiency, and adding water scrubbers to clean up the fumes. (The wastewater from the cleaning process is often thrown into the sea, transfering problems from air to sea.)

Others are seeking in the wind an ally to cut emissions further. Since 2014, the International Windship Association (IWSA) has been advocating for the implementation of wind propulsion for commercial shipping worldwide. Cargill, an American multinational, retrofitted one of its large container ships with two 37.5-meter retractable hard sails that should cut the ship emissions by 30%. Vela, a small-scale French shipping firm, went all-in and worked on a 100% wind-propelled ship that could carry the equivalent of 51 containers across the Atlantic Ocean. 

“Ports are life, he says as he slowly sips his espresso. He added that they need to be protected, but so should the health of his "children and grandchildren and the common good."

"I believe that zero-emissions technology does not yet exist," Bocchetti says. "However, it is possible to sum up all the best existing technologies to reduce consumption significantly."

MOVING FORWARD

In June 2022, after about seven years of negotiations, during the 78th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization, Mediterranean countries agreed to create a Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for sulfur oxides and particulate matter (Med SOx ECA).

That was a big win for the region, which followed two other existing areas in the North and Baltic Sea, and will come into force in 2025. According to a United Nations Environment Program study, it will prevent 1,100 premature deaths and 2,300 cases of childhood asthma every year. Once Med SOx ECA comes in, boat builders and operators must follow.

Still, Gerometta says that nitrogen oxides, which can cause severe respiratory diseases, were left out of the deal and are likely to keep increasing, harming people living in coastal areas.

"We would have been even happier if, together with the resolution on the Med SOx ECA area, there had been the resolution on the nitrogen oxides area," she said. But it's not easy to make all Mediterranean countries agree on a new area, also because the Libyan economic interests might differ significantly from those of Italy or Greece, Gerometta added.

"We are trying to raise awareness among the population that this is a problem that needs to be addressed," she said, adding that, in the end, it will be up to administrators and regulators to act.

Back in Civitavecchia, Rocchi stopped at a bar to drink a coffee. He spoke of his love for the sea and a lifetime spent sailing.

"Ports are life," he says as he slowly sips his espresso. He added that they need to be protected, but so should the health of his "children and grandchildren and the common good."

"I do all this for them.".

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Agostino Petroni is a Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow based in Rome and a book author. His recent work appears in publications such as National Geographic, the BBC, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post.