Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research his Department has commissioned or gathered on the effect of open loop scrubbers on sediment quality in UK waters; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has not commissioned research or gathered scientific evidence concerning the effect of open loop scrubber systems (designed to remove a range of contaminants from a ship’s exhaust gases) on sediments in UK waters.

The Department is aware of the increasing interest in this area and of the potential effects on the receiving coastal/marine environment due to wastewater discharges from these systems. As more robust, scientific evidence emerges, Defra will assess the risks to sediment and seawater quality.