Heavy Oil, the Filthy Lifeblood of Globalization (Swiss Press Online 2017, by Besson Sylvain) - Swiss Press Award
Le Temps
Besson Sylvain
Very harmful, scarcely controlled and frequently mixed with various hazardous chemicals: heavy oil (also known as fuel oil, marine fuel, furnace- or bunker oil), is part of the shadowy business in dubious raw materials. It nevertheless greases the wheels of global trade by fuelling the huge engines of the supertankers and container ships. The market is worth 65 billion dollars. And, even though Switzerland is a long way from the ocean, it is in Geneva and Zug where maritime trading companies are based and raw materials are traded. From Geneva to Rotterdam via Antwerp, Sylvain Besson has researched these companies, who commercialize a fuel the disappearance of which has supposedly been promised. Excessive levels of sulfur, toxic substances and heavy metals all pollute the European coasts. But the ecological revolution will not happen overnight. The conversion of the vessels alone, will require investments amounting to 35 billion dollars by 2020.
Interview with Besson Sylvain
