In a recent article (E&T Feb - Hybrid Ships - https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2019/01/hybrid-ships-take-to-the-high-seas/) it is stated that "According to figures originally published in the Guardian in 2009, one giant container ship can emit almost the same amount of cancer- and asthma-causing chemicals as 50 million cars, and around 50,000 premature deaths in Europe have been attributed to international shipping". This seems a bit much to me, since there are only about 30 million cars in the whole of the UK. Can one container ship with say two diesel engines of 40,000 hp each produce the equivalent pollutants of the exhausts of 50 million cars with a combined engine power of perhaps around 2.5 billion hp? (Note that I am ignoring issues such as the 15,000-20,000 lorries kept off the road). As this information was originally published in the Guardian, does anyone know how the journalists gather and, more importantly, validate their statements?
Alasdair
