Maersk is calling on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to have a carbon dioxide tax for the maritime industry ready by 2025; starting at about $50 a tonne and gradually increasing it to $150 a tonne in later years, Bloomberg reports.
The company said the tax will bridge the price gap between traditional bunker fuels that vessels currently consume and greener alternatives that are much more expensive.
Fuel costs would effectively almost double if the measure were imposed today because of how carbon dioxide emissions are counted.
According to Maersk, the $150 tax will equate to a $450 per metric tonne (pmt) hike in the cost of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO).
VLSFO costs about $500 to $525 pmt depending on where in the world it’s bought, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“It’s not trivial to move to green fuels from a cost perspective,” said Soren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller Maersk. “We need to somehow level the playing field, and that’s the purpose of a market-based measure.”
The issue is set to be discussed at a UN meeting beginning next week.
Photo credit: Maersk
Published: 4 June, 2021
Severe shortage of cargo paired with a reduction of suppliers and barges causing extreme tightness, says source.
Several samples from Falmouth, which were ordered as ISO-F-DMA grades, tested with flash points below the 60°C SOLAS minimum limit for marine fuel oil.
Shortages due to VLSFO not stabilising in vessel pipes, resulting in inaccurate readings - shipowners are advised to appoint a Bunker Quantity Surveyor.
WHO has declared the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and has proposed certain Temporary Recommendations be issued.
Ince & Co. lawyers briefed delegates at an Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre breakfast seminar in March.
‘Over the next three decades, the International Energy Agency estimates there will be well over USD 100 trillion total in clean energy investment,’ says ABS.
Top three positive movers in 2021 were Hong Lam Fuels Pte Ltd (+14); Sirius Marine Pte Ltd (+12); and TFG Marine (+11); according to the latest data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Webinar will offer delegates insights on the prevention of operational issues when using VLSFOs, along with an update on biofuels and bunker fuel quality trends for 2021 and its forecast for the current year.
Heating VLSFOs to prevent cold flow issues causes issues related to distillate ageing, and there is a gentle balance to be maintained when handling the product.
Research into n-paraffin distribution of VLSFOs has shown that they not only differ from MGO, but significantly differ from each other as well, states bulletin.
Bunker Holding and Dan-Bunkering have decided not to appeal the city court ruling in the case where the companies were on trial for breaching EU sanctions against Syria, states USTC.
Poll shows market participants think Singapore’s future as a bunkering hub in the near term will be impacted most by growth in alternative bunker fuels and intensifying competition from other ports in Asia.
