At today’s turning point in the history of human civilization, we are now called as a nation with a profound history of centuries to protect nature, to leave our mark on the planet, being one of the greatest Marine forces in the history of this planet, emissions of gaseous pollutants emanating from the shipping industry.

Over 90% of world trade is transported around the world with about 90,000 ships. Like all fossil fuel-based modes, ships produce carbon dioxide emissions that contribute significantly to global climate change and sharpening. In addition to carbon dioxide releasing ships, they also release a number of other pollutants that contribute to the problem.

The shipping industry is responsible for a significant proportion of the global climate change problem. More than 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions can be attributed to ocean-going vessels. This is an amount comparable to the major coal-producing countries – and the industry continues to grow at a rapid pace.

In fact, if global shipping was a country, it would be the sixth largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. Only the United States, China, Russia, India and Japan emit more carbon dioxide than the global shipping fleet. However, carbon dioxide emissions from ships engaged in maritime transport are not regulated at present.

James Corbett, of the University of Delaware, made the principle of ship emissions. It estimated in 2010 a worldwide death toll of about 64,000 a year, of which 27,000 would be in Europe. Britain was and is one of the worst affected countries with about 2,000 deaths from smoke. Corbett predicted that the world figure would increase to 87,000 deaths annually by 2012. See the study here.

Part of the responsibility for this international scandal lies near the headquarters of major shipping companies. In London, on the southern bank of the Thames that looks at the Houses of Parliament, is the International Maritime Organization, the UN agency that deals with shipping the world. For decades, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has rejected calls for the clean-up of ship-source pollution. As a result, despite the fact that the black, sulphurous smoke from chimneys or exhaust gases is far from illegal, shipping has retained permission to infect.

For 31 years, the IMO had implemented a policy agreed by the 169 governments that make up the organization, which allowed most ships to burn fuel residues.Christian Eyde Moller, head of the DK shipping company in Rotterdam, has recently described this as “simple diesel-powered minerals, basically what remains after all the cleaner fuels have been extracted from crude oil. It is pitch, the same as the asphalt. It is the cheapest and dirtier fuel in the world.”

The fuel of these ships, that is, is also viscous with sulfur. IMO rules allowed ships to burn fuels containing up to 4.5% sulfur. This was 4,500 times more than allowed in car fuel in the European Union. Sulfur comes from the ship’s lumps as tiny particles and it’s the ones that penetrate deep into the lungs.

Thanks to International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules, until yesterday, larger ships could emit up to 5,000 tonnes of sulfur each year – the same as 50 million standard cars, each of which emits an average of 100 grams sulfur over time.

With about 800 million cars traveling on the planet, this means that 16 super-boats can emit both savage and global car fleet.

Greece, what does it intend to do?