Death by ships

Pollution from marine shipping causes approximately 60,000 premature cardiopulmonary and lung cancer deaths around the world each year, according to a new report.

The report benchmarks for the first time the number of annual deaths caused globally by pollution from marine vessels, with coastal regions in Asia and Europe the most affected.

Conducted by James Corbett of the University of Delaware and James Winebrake from the Rochester Institute of Technology, the study correlates the global distribution of particulate matter -black carbon, sulphur, nitrogen and organic particles - released from ships’ smoke stacks with heart disease and lung cancer mortalities in adults.

The results indicate that approximately 60,000 people die prematurely around the world each year from shipping-related emissions. Under current regulation, and with the expected growth in shipping activity, Corbett and Winebrake estimate the annual mortalities from ship emissions could increase by 40 percent by 2012.

Corbett and Winebrake’s results come in the midst of current discussions by the International Maritime Organization to regulate emissions from ships.