Norway plans HFO ban for Svalbard

The Norwegian government has announced plans to ban ships from using or carrying heavy fuel oil (HFO) around the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, over concerns a spill could devastate the region’s fragile environment, writes Keith Nuthall. Norway’s Minister for the Climate and Environment Sveinung Rotevatn added that a disaster could damage the remote island group’s growing tourism industry. ‘We must do everything we can to prevent the unthinkable,’ he told Norway’s public broadcaster NRK.

HFO was banned from waters covered by Svalbard’s seven national parks in 2015, but most surrounding maritime areas remain unprotected, especially to the north and east of the archipelago.

Should the proposal be approved by Norway’s Parliament, the Storting, it would impose a ban ahead of a proposed International Maritime Organisation (IMO) measure, which would block HFO from being used or carried by ships in all Arctic waters from 1 July 2024.