Page 203 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2023

been an increase in the number of point is the Vale Dam collapse in value of ships will be directly linked
Major Hurricanes, where winds in Brazil in January 2019. This disaster to the amount of CO₂ they emit. This
their interior exceed 96 knots. So, resulted in the death of 270 people fact makes the calculation and pre-
in the 1851 – 1996 period, only in 13 and severely impacted the local diction of the CII, the latter based
out of 144 years did the number of ecosystem and livelihood of many on the future operational profile of
Major Hurricanes exceed 3 per year. people in the region who depend on the ship, a necessary procedure.
However, in the 27 years from 1997, agriculture and fishing. In addition, Climate change is a fact, so imme-
when climate change began to con- the Vale Dam disaster significantly diate and realistic solutions are
cern our world more intensely, until disturbed the iron ore market for needed to mitigate it. Although the
today, we have had 11 years with many months due to reduced iron shipping industry is only responsi-
THE CONSEQUENCES more than three Major Hurricanes. ore quantities available for China’s ble for 2.2% of global greenhouse
Extreme droughts also create direct
markets.
gas emissions, it has undergone
OF CLIMATE CHANGE and indirect problems. For example, But there is also another side effect enormous changes in the last 7
of climate change that involves
years. The IMO’s target of reduc-
one of their direct consequences is
ON THE SMOOTH OPERATION the dramatic drop in the level of imposing stricter environmental ing emissions by 40% in 2030
compared to 2008 levels appears
navigable rivers, as in the case of regulations aimed at reducing the
OF THE MARITIME INDUSTRY the Rhine in the summer of 2022. emissions of commercial ships. unrealistic. Undoubtedly, the big-
These regulations have increased gest challenge is our world’s heavy
However, the indirect effects are
even more severe since extremely operating costs and created addi- dependence on hydrocarbons.
high temperatures and water short- tional work for crews as they have Ammonia for fertilizers, steel,
ages reduce agricultural produc- brought about changes in the concrete and plastics are the
tion, leading to reduced transport reporting process. At the same mainstays of the modern world.
work due to decreased availability time, introducing the Carbon Inten- Their production requires vast
of products. On the other hand, sity Index (CII) on 1 January 2023 amounts of energy or the direct
extreme rainfalls can also cause has completely changed the charter use of hydrocarbons. In any event,
significant problems. A case in market landscape. From now on, the renewable sources of energy and
recycling cannot cover the grad-
ual increase of energy demand on
a global scale. Instead, humanity
should focus on either CO₂ cap-
ture systems or nuclear power.
After the painful experience of
the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
in 1986, the latter is considered
heretical. However, comparing
the number of deaths due to air
pollution, mainly caused by burn-
ing fossil fuels (about 7,000,000
deaths per year, according to a
2020 scientific study published in
the medical journal “The Lancet”)
with the death toll of nuclear acci-
dents from the Chernobyl accident
onwards (4,000 – 93,000 direct or
indirect deaths), we easily under-
stand that there is no comparison.
There is no doubt that the ship-
ping industry has made significant
strides in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in recent years by imple-
menting new technologies and sys-
tems. However, even if the IMO’s
emissions reduction targets are
achieved, more serious steps must
be taken, and brave decisions must
be made by all the industry sectors
of the modern world.

203