A Canadian environmental group is commissioning a study to discover whether exhaust gas scrubbers pose any harm to marine life, amid conflicting views regarding their potential impact.

Clear Seas Centre for Responsible Marine Shipping has hired Canadian ship designer Alion Science & Technology to conduct a study on the environmental impact of open-loop systems in Canadian waters.

Numerous ports worldwide are banning such scrubbers over concerns that the wash water effluent may damage sea life.