The below statement is a report written by Unni Einemo of IBIA:
Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI to prohibit not just the use, but also carriage of bunkers above 0.50% sulphur, have been agreed this week, taking into account a request from IBIA and IPIECA to slightly modify the regulatory text to make sure it doesn’t unintentionally prevent bunker barges from carrying high sulphur bunker fuel for delivery to ships with scrubbers.
The carriage ban was initially discussed in plenary at the 72nd session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72) on Tuesday, using amended regulatory text developed by the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 5) in February.
The key issue up for consideration was whether to go ahead with the amendment, which, if formally adopted at MEPC 73 in October this year, means a carriage ban can take effect as early as 1 March, 2020.
For some, that is too early. A number of countries argued for deferring the carriage ban until a later date due to uncertainty about the availability of compliant fuels in 2020, and concerns about the safety of the fuels on offer. They were advocating a phase of experience-building before not only the use of fuels above 0.50% sulphur is prohibited, but also carriage of such fuels on ships without approved equivalent arrangements such as scrubbers.
A majority of IMO member states, however, see the carriage ban as a crucial instrument in enabling more effective enforcement of the 2020 sulphur limit and hence reduce the risk that operators will be tempted to cheat and gain a competitive advantage.
The other issue up for discussion was the clarity of the amended text for Regulation 14, which was developed at PPR 5: “The sulphur content of any fuel oil used or carried for use on board ships shall not exceed 0.50% m/m.”
IBIA co-sponsored a submission to MEPC 72 with IPIECA, calling for a small modification to prevent unintended consequences because this could be read as not allowing bunker barges to carry “fuel oil for use on ships” with above 0.50% sulphur content.
Our proposal received strong support as the need for a clear, unambiguous text was recognised. The text eventually agreed, following deliberations in the Air Pollution Working Group, was as follows: “The sulphur content of fuel oil used or carried for use on board a ship shall not exceed 0.50% m/m.”
There was also discussion regarding whether there was a need to include a reference in this part of the MARPOL regulation to show a clear link to the regulation 4.1 of MARPOL Annex VI on equivalent means, to make it crystal clear that the carriage ban does not apply to ships equipped with approved abatement technology such as scrubbers.
While there was some support for this, on balance, it was deemed unnecessary and would open the door to having to add cross-references to regulation 4.1 throughout other parts of the MARPOL Annex VI regulation.
Besides, some argued, the regulation will be clearly understood by the authorities in charge of enforcing it. The ship’s IAPP certificate will clearly state whether the ship has an approved equivalent arrangement.
One member state, however, reserved its position on this and may propose an editorial amendment to MEPC 73 to make the exemption from the carriage ban for ships with scrubbers more explicit.
Apart from the amendment of Regulation 14 to prevent not just the use, but also the carriage of fuel oil above 0.50% sulphur, the amended text to be adopted has been shortened significantly as mentions of previous sulphur limits in emission control areas (ECAs) and outside ECAs will be redundant from the start of 2020, and hence have been removed.
The new regulatory text only specifies the 0.50% limit under Regulation 14.1, and the 0.10% applicable in ECAs under Regulation 14.4, which has also been slightly amended to read: “While a ship is operating within an emission control area, the sulphur content of fuel oil used on board that ship shall not exceed 0.10% m/m.”
After being formally approved at MEPC 72 this Friday, the amendments to MARPOL Annex VI are expected to be formally adopted at MEPC 73 and enter into force on 1 March, 2020.
Published: 16 April, 2018
Number of ships with exhaust gas cleaning systems installed or on order at 983 as of 31 May 2018.
Encourages proposal to be brought up at upcoming MEPC 74 meeting in IMO headquarters between 13 to 17 May.
Publishes analysis: ‘The Effects of Changes to Marine Fuel Sulfur Limits in 2020 on Energy Markets’.
Several large globally operating shipping and bunkering companies reporting a surprisingly smooth transition to the 0.5%sulphur limit for marine fuels.
FSA Chairman and President Dario Alampay says local oil suppliers unable to deliver compliant product.
Non-eco scrubber-fitted vessels will be able to compete with modern eco-vessels even beyond 2023, it suggests.
Firm hopes to leverage partnership in Greece as a springboard to expand into neighbouring and overseas markets including Europe and China, says Robin Van Elderen, Regional Head Bunkers, Europe, Sing Fuels.
Singapore can help less developed countries in SouthEast Asia through ‘piloting and scaling fuels and technology as well as a leading hub for green finance’, said DNV Group President and CEO Remi Eriksen.
Octamar™ Ultra HF, Octamar™ Complete, and Octamar™ F35C were found to have improved the fuel economy while reducing exhaust gas and other emissions of marine engines in a series of trials, states report.
Disposal of evidence has resulted in Singapore not being able to provide full details to the United Nationals Panel of Experts which sought information regarding the case, says Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
‘We are proud to be amongst the first to show the successful steps taken by Singapore’s bunkering ecosystem to remain forward thinking and relevant,’ Choong Sheen Mao, Director of EMF, tells Manifold Times.
‘With the launch of a common data infrastructure, Kenoil aims to continue achieving an end to end visibility and transparency on the bunker data supply chain,’ states Kenoil Managing Director.
