Simon Bennett, Director Policy & External Relations, International Chamber of Shipping says that 2017 promises further regulatory uncertainty and that many issues will have to wait one more year.
GREEN4SEA: Focusing on your area of expertise, what do you think that it will be the biggest marine environmental challenge(s) for the industry for the 2017?
Simon Bennett: 2017 promises further regulatory uncertainty particularly with respect to the details of how expensive new environmental rules will be implemented in practice.
But shipowners may also be on the cusp of receiving some of the clarity they sorely need so that they can at last start deciding how best to respond. This includes whether and when to send ships for early recycling, which may just help to address the chronic overcapacity that is a feature of so many trades.
The IMO Ballast Convention will finally enter into force next year. But we may have to wait until 2018 until IMO finalises the implementation schedule. The United States also needs urgently to type-approve more treatment systems against its unilateral requirements so that owners will have confidence that the equipment they install will be universally accepted.
Shipowners do now have certainty that the global sulphur cap will be implemented in 2020 and should start to plan accordingly, in the knowledge that fuel costs could increase by over 50%. But uncertainty about oil and gas prices makes it difficult to decide whether to look to alternative compliance options such as ‘scrubbers’ or LNG.
We also have to wait until 2018 to see what additional steps IMO will decide to take on CO2 reduction. But given the importance of reducing fuel costs, making every effort to cut CO2 will remain a ‘no brainer’ regardless.
The views presented hereabove are only those of the author and not necessarily those of GREEN4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
