Chemical tanker carriage requirement changes
At the recent IMO ESPH meeting, carriage requirements were agreed for 10 new products to be included in the IBC Code.
These products will be included in List 1 of MEPC.2/Circ.16 (to be issued in December), pending the issuing of the next edition of the IBC Code in 2013, the International Parcel Tanker Association (IPTA) reported.
In addition, the carriage requirements of Alkanes (C10-C26), linear and branched (a Neste product commonly known as renewable diesel) have been changed slightly to reflect new information provided. The changes affect columns i (electrical equipment) and k (vapour detection) and will also be reflected in the new circular.
The text of the guidelines for the carriage of blends of petroleum oil with biofuels was also completed, incorporating the elements agreed at the BL sub-committee earlier this year.
This included the raising of the limit of the percentage of biofuel in a blend carried in accordance with Annex I to 25% and the generic carriage requirements for blends containing more than 25% of biofuel.
IPTA said; “We would also draw attention to the reference to certification in Paragraph 10, which means that if a vessel is loading the components of a blend in different ports it must be certified for the first component loaded as well as the finished product”.
This would effectively mean that an oil tanker would not be able to load a FAME component and then sail to a different port to load diesel on top, the association explained.
A draft of the proposed guidelines will be considered by the BLG sub-committee in February 2011 and will then have to be approved by the MSC in May next year and the MEPC in July 2011 before being formally issued.
In the meantime, IPTA said that the initial guidance agreed by BLG 10 in 2006 has been extended to July 2011 and until then blends can only be carried under the provisions of Annex I if the percentage of biofuel in the blend is no more than 15%.
Source : International Parcel Tankers Association