UK ports 'choked' by shipping fumes, study claims

Ports are being "choked" by harmful fumes, a clean transport think tank has claimed.

Milford Haven in Wales was the most polluted, followed by Immingham in Lincolnshire and Southampton, according to a report by Transport and Environment (T&E).

It found ships in Milford Haven produced nearly 100 times more harmful sulphur oxides (SOx) than all 67,000 cars in Pembrokeshire in 2022.

The Port of Milford Haven said it questioned "the methodology they have used to reach their conclusions".

About 74,000kg (163,000lb) of SOx, from 472 ships, were produced in Milford Haven, compared with 51,000kg from 938 ships in Immingham, according to the report.

In Southampton, 46 cruise ships – 6% of vessels stopping there – produced more SOx than 200 container ships, the study claimed.

Jonathan Hood, UK sustainable shipping manager at T&E, said ports were being "choked by the harmful fumes caused by a shipping industry that, thanks to years of government inaction, has no impetus to change".

He called on the government to "chart a better course for the industry" with an updated Clean Maritime Plan.

"We need to see a rapid switch away from filthy fossil fuels, and ports must set binding targets to implement zero-emission technologies," he added.

A spokesperson for ABP said the company was "working incredibly hard" to reduce emissions, had cut carbon dioxide by 34% since 2015 and was investing in green technology.

Air quality was closely monitored to ensure levels were "well within" local authority limits and national objectives.

"ABP doesn’t recognise the numbers produced by Transport and Environment UK in their theoretical modelling and have concerns about the methodology they have employed and conclusions they have drawn," the spokesperson added.

"T&E UK didn't choose to engage with ABP ahead of the report launch."

The Port of Milford Haven said it was "working incredibly hard, inside our own business and with our customers, to reduce emissions and deliver an accelerated transition to a Net Zero future".

The British Ports Association, which represents UK operators, said the report lacked critical context and industry research showed emissions from ports were a fraction of wider background emissions in most cities.

Mark Simmonds, the association's policy director, said most of the industry had "ambitious" net-zero targets, which would have "a positive impact on air quality".

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