Once again, the city, in cooperation with environmental associations, is calling for the creation of a maritime environmental zone off the coast of Marseille. Above all, ships with the environmentally harmful "scrubber filter" should be banned. This is because they do not prevent water pollution, but contribute to it.
High-emission maritime transport has long been in the sights of cities like Marseille. Only a few months ago, the French city launched a petition against polluting ships and boats. Many citizens and politicians are concerned about the impact of maritime traffic on health and the environment - and want to find a solution. Even before the internationally agreed SECA zone comes into force in 2025 - to keep pollutant emissions of sulphur oxides and particles, for example, under control throughout the Mediterranean water area. It is precisely for this reason that the metropolis, together with several associations, intends to take matters into its own hands and once again demand the establishment of a kind of environmental zone on the sea.
The target of the measures would be in particular all ships that have so-called "scrubber filters". These filter systems invented by ship owners - explains the local collective "Stop Cruises" - are supposed to reduce engine exhaust gases on paper. But by allowing conventional and polluting heavy fuel oil to continue to be used as fuel, the scrubber-filters bring negative environmental consequences. The scrubber would at least partially filter the exhaust gases, but in a second step, due to the open structure of the device, the collected pollutants are discharged directly into the sea. In other words, the principle of operation of the equipment - the collective continues - is no different than "transferring part of the air pollution to the sea." What should protect the environment, on the other hand, has catastrophic effects - such as on marine biodiversity, ocean acidification and ultimately global warming.
By banning such ships from sailing along the coast and in the Bay of Marseille, authorities and associations want to force a stop to the filter-related dragging of pollution into the sea. To this end, increased controls are also necessary to identify violations and to act accordingly in the sense of protecting the waters at an early stage. Finally, there is little alternative for the city but to support associations and citizens in their fight against dense maritime traffic. More and more complaints are landing on the desks of the authorities. Just as it is increasingly clear that Marseille cannot allow double standards to be applied to the pollution situation at sea in the light of the tightening environmental zone regulations on land. Out of consideration for the population, which has to deal with environmental zones and driving bans on a daily basis - driving bans were most recently activated in the Marseille ZPA environmental zone in February - as well as for the ecosystem in general.
However, it is not yet possible to say how the initiative will develop. Because, as with previous attempts to create a kind of maritime environmental zone, the implementation of the proposed measure remains possible only with the will of the government - and not the city administration. Will maritime environmental zones soon become a reality for Marseille, and many other coastal cities?