The parliament of Greenland has unanimously approved a gradual ban on discharges from ships’ exhaust gas cleaning systems. This adds more environmental regulations for vessels operating in Arctic waters, which could impact cruise operators that use scrubbers to meet international emissions requirements.
On November 4, the Inatsisartut directed the Greenlandic government to implement these new restrictions. According to the plan, discharges from open-loop scrubbers will be banned in Greenland’s ports, internal waters, and territorial seas starting July 1, 2027. The ban will extend to all types of scrubber systems, including closed-loop ones, by July 1, 2029.
This initiative was proposed by Justus Hansen, a member of the Demokraatit party. The government suggested the gradual timeline as part of a regional effort under the OSPAR Convention, which focuses on the Northeast Atlantic.
Scrubbers, also known as exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS), let ships burn high-sulfur fuel by cleaning sulfur oxides from exhaust gases. Open-loop systems use seawater and discharge the wastewater directly into the ocean, which contains sulfur compounds, heavy metals, and other pollutants. Closed-loop systems recycle the washwater but can also create waste that needs proper disposal.
The Clean Arctic Alliance praised the decision. Sian Prior, the alliance’s lead adviser, stated, “Scrubbers merely create a loophole that allows ships to keep burning the dirtiest fuels instead of switching to cleaner options like marine gas oil.”
The alliance contends that scrubbers transfer pollution from the air to the ocean while allowing ships to use residual fuels that emit more particulate matter and black carbon compared to cleaner distilled fuels.
This decision aligns with a broader trend of tightening shipping regulations across the Arctic, although various measures target different pollution issues.
On March 1, 2026, the Canadian Arctic and the Norwegian Sea were designated as IMO Emission Control Areas (ECAs). These designations require ships to adhere to stricter nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide emission standards, including a maximum sulfur content of 0.10% in marine fuel. Norway already had an ECA for its North Sea waters.
Svalbard has gone even further in regulating fuel quality. Since January 2022, ships entering its waters can no longer use or carry petroleum-based fuels that exceed the limits allowed for marine gas oil.
However, the wider Arctic region still lacks a comprehensive ECA that covers it entirely. Existing ECAs do not fully eliminate the use of heavy fuel oil in all cases, as vessels with scrubbers can meet sulfur limits while burning residual fuels.
The IMO’s separate ban on heavy fuel oil in the Arctic was adopted under MARPOL Annex I and started affecting certain ships in July 2024. Some vessels that meet specific fuel-tank protection standards have until July 1, 2029, to comply. This ban aims to address the risks and impacts of heavy fuel oil spills rather than the issues related to scrubber wastewater or black carbon emissions.
The impact on Greenland’s cruise industry is still uncertain, as there is no available data on how many vessels operating in Greenlandic waters are equipped with scrubbers. According to the Arctic Council, Greenland and its waters welcomed roughly 94,000 cruise passengers across 232 journeys in 2025.
In comparison, global fleet data from S&P Global in 2025 identified 338 passenger and cruise ships equipped with scrubbers. However, vessels affected by the new rules might not have to cancel their plans in Greenland or remove their scrubbers. They could choose to switch to compliant, lower-sulfur fuels like marine gas oil (MGO), which would allow them to avoid discharging scrubber wastewater.