Ottawa should to stop procrastinating and get on board with the proposed ban on the use of highly polluting heavy fuel oil by ships operating in the Arctic, says Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Inuit activist and author.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations’ specialized agency that regulates maritime shipping, will discuss the issue of heavy fuel oils (HFO) used in the Arctic at the 72nd session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) that began on Monday.

The use of HFOs, also known as bunker oil, is already banned in the Antarctic and several environmental and Indigenous groups are calling for a similar ban in the Arctic.

“It’s one of the biggest threats because heavy fuel oil is extremely toxic and of course the possible potential for spillage into our Arctic marine ecosystem is deadly to us,” Watt-Cloutier said in a phone interview from London, where she participated in a panel discussion on the issue on the sidelines of the MEPC meeting.

(click to listen to the full interview with Sheila Watt-Cloutier)

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The Inuit rely on the marine mammals and fish in the Arctic for a large part of their nutrition, she said.

Also the combustion of heavy fuel oils creates very high levels of air pollutants, black carbon and accelerates climate change in the Arctic, said Watt-Cloutier, a former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the author of The Right to be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet.

Canada calls for more consultations

Documents obtained by Radio Canada International show that as part of the discussion of a Canadian proposal to mitigate the risks of heavy fuel oil pollution in the Arctic, which was adopted at MEPC’s 71 session in London last July, Finland has submitted a plan to the MEPC to ban the use and carriage of HFOs by ships in Arctic waters by 2021.

Finland’s proposed ban, which would be mandatory for all ships to which the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) applies, while operating in Arctic waters, is co-sponsored by Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States.

Canada moves to dilute Finnish bid to ban dirty fuels from the Arctic

“A single HFO spill could have devastating and lasting effects on fragile Arctic marine and coastal environments,” the Finnish proposal says. “In addition, Arctic shipping is projected to continue to rise, thus increasing the risk of a spill. For these reasons, the ban on HFO should be implemented as soon as possible, and any delay in implementation of the HFO ban by eligible ships should be short-lived.”

However, in a document submitted by Canada and the Marshall Islands in response to the Finnish proposal, Ottawa argues against rushing to an outright ban too quickly, suggesting instead that the committee should also take into account the potential adverse economic impact of increased shipping costs on northern Indigenous communities that depend on maritime resupply for most of their goods.

While agreeing that “the threat of an accidental oil spill in Arctic waters remains the most significant threat from ships to the Arctic marine environment,” Ottawa urges the IMO to consider “economic and other impacts to Arctic communities associated with the restriction or phase out of heavy fuel in Arctic waters.”

The federal ministry of transport, the lead agency on this file, declined a request for an interview. However, in a written statement sent to RCI ministry spokesperson Julie Leroux said the government plans to consult with industry, other government departments and Indigenous communities on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic.