Accused of “polluting the territorial sea”, the captain of a cargo ship is being tried on Monday in Marseille. He had been checked in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) when he had just discharged more than a million litres of water used to wash the smoke from the chimneys of his bulk carrier. The cause: the scrubbers, these filters which clean the air of atmospheric pollution from ships, but whose contents discharged into the sea pollute the waters.

In the courts, captains of merchant ships have been tried in the past for oil spills and gas discharges. But now some are accused of another type of pollution. This time invisible. It consists of discharging dirty fumes, loaded with sulfur in particular, from the ships’ chimneys into the water.

This is what happened to the Filipino captain of the Maltese bulk carrier Seaforce, tried on Monday September 2 in Marseille for “pollution of the territorial sea“. The man is accused of having discharged more than a million litres of fumes washing water into the sea at Fos-sur-Mer. A harbour classified as a Natura 2000 zone.

Washing your exhaust fumes… in the sea

How? Via its “scrubber”, a system for washing exhaust gases emitted by ships, the aim of which is to reduce atmospheric pollution produced by merchant ships. A sort of particle filter that has been mandatory for sailing in the Mediterranean since January 1, 2020, unless a less polluting fuel is used.

Another obligation was put in place on January 1, 2022: it is prohibited to use this device near the coast. More precisely, the “scrubber” must operate in a closed system when the boat is less than three nautical miles – approximately five kilometers – from land. A solution intended to prevent smoke residues loaded with heavy metals from being discharged into the sea near the coast.

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However, in March 2023, the captain of the Seaforce was caught using this open and near-shore system, discharging more than a million litres of fume washing water into the Fos-sur-Mer harbour. The fine for the shipowner could be up to one million euros. The Filipino captain risks seven years in prison.

The verdict expected in Marseille is the first of its kind and will set a precedent. Another similar case is to be judged: that of a 230-meter bulk carrier operated by a South Korean company. Last September, inspectors on board discovered, while analyzing the ship’s documents, that the captain had used his scrubber in the unauthorized zone.

In this matter, the Marseille public prosecutor’s office insists on its desire for intransigence in the face of this atmospheric and maritime pollution.”invisible“The associations are calling for a ban on open-loop scrubbers, which, they explain, transfer air pollution to the sea, regardless of the distance from the coast.

Marianne ENAULT