A broad political majority has reached an agreement to ban the discharge of scrubber water in Danish waters. Danish Shipping recognizes the ban and calls for rigorous enforcement.

It will no longer be allowed for ships sailing through Danish waters to discharge the wash water from the smoke-cleaning systems that remove sulfur from the ships’ exhaust gases, known as scrubbers.

Scrubbers became widespread after stricter sulfur regulations were introduced in the North Sea and Baltic Sea in 2015 and especially after global sulfur regulations came into effect in 2020. At that time, shipping companies could choose to comply with the new rules by either cleaning the smoke for sulfur with a scrubber or switching to fuel with a lower sulfur content.

“I am pleased that the politicians have chosen to listen to our request to introduce a sensible phase-in period, so that the shipping companies that have invested a lot of money in complying with the rules and reducing their sulfur emissions with a scrubber, have time to adapt to a new reality,” said Nina Porst, Director of Climate, Environment, and Safety at Danish Shipping.

We will, of course, comply with the new rules, and therefore it is also important for us that the ban comes with a plan that will ensure robust enforcement.

Nina Porst, Director of Climate, Environment, and Safety at Danish Shipping

The ban on ships’ discharge of scrubber water will apply in the Danish territorial sea, 12 nautical miles (about 22 km) from the coast. The agreement states that Denmark will work for a similar ban in the Baltic Sea and North Sea through the regional sea conventions HELCOM and OSPAR with a view to regulation under IMO auspices.

“We will, of course, comply with the new rules, and therefore it is also important for us that the ban comes with a plan that will ensure robust enforcement. If this is not the case, it could end up putting some Danish shipping companies at a disadvantage compared to their foreign competitors,” says Nina Porst.”

The ban will come into effect on July 1, 2025, for ships with scrubbers in open operation, where the wash water is discharged into the sea. For ships with scrubbers in closed operation, the ban on water discharge will take effect on July 1, 2029.