Polish oil giant faces cost hike over EU Sulphur Directive

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According to the revision, which will come into force in 2015, vessels on the Baltic Sea must reduce the sulphur content of their fuel to 0.1 percent, a tenth of the current norm.

Poland's Dziennik Gazeta Prawna estimates that costs of freight shipping could increase by 40 percent as a result of the change.

PKN Orlen, which is one of the world's largest oil companies, uses the Baltic Sea as a channel for its oil tankers.

The Baltic is a high priority for the EU, owing to its status as a Sulphur Emission Control Area, due to high pollution of the region.

Regions not classified as Sulphur Emission Control Areas will be obliged to cut sulphur emissions to 0.5 percent, but only from the year 2020.

The revision, which was passed by the European Parliament last month, was originally proposed by Finnish Green MEP Hatu Sassi.

“Highly polluting shipping fuels have a serious impact on the environment but also on public health: air pollution from ships is estimated to cause 50,000 premature deaths per year in Europe,” she outlined in a statement on her official web site. (nh)