Prior to reloading, inland shipping vessels may be degassed, with noxious vapours sometimes being released. This degassing is an issues of major concern to government and industry alike, and studies are in progress to assess the scale of the problem and elaborate potential solutions.
Against this background the Zuid-Holland Provincial Executive asked CE Delft to prepare a concise summary of relevant facts and figures. This was done on the basis of a 2013 degassing study carried out for companies in this sector, in which the number of vessels degassing in the Netherlands was inventoried and the emissions reviewed. These data were used to assess the emissions deserving greatest priority and the measures available to minimize degassing.
Government and industry are meanwhile working on an agreement to drastically reduce this practice, with the government agencies concerned already having signed an administrative pledge on the issue.