The European Commission tightens up the guidelines for member states
Brussels will give new guidelines to Port State Control regarding the enforcement of the low-sulphur rules while the European Commission will put forward the revision of the European Unions 2005 sulphur directive, which it will be in accordance with the 2015 and 2020 emission deadlines made by the IMO.
A member state which has transposed the directive into its own laws then it is has to inform the commission and prove conformity. A tick box approach will ensure if the general meaning of the directive is the same in any national legislative text. This text has to be in accordance with the EU and the IMO. The percentage of sulphur in a fuel used in the emission control areas is below 0.1%and the other waters of Europe below 3.5% as of next year, and 0.5% as of 2020. The commission will then begin to ensure that member states properly enforce this text. It is now producing stricter guidelines to ensure that any non-compliance by vessels is detected.
The commission is also looking to produce guidelines on how each member state reports its data. Brussels now wants to tighten up to ensure that there is harmonisation of reports across Europe, and that member states can be monitored properly. If exhaust gas scrubbers become an accepted solution within the maritime industry, then port state control inspectors will be expected to either take bunker fuel samples, or to examine records of any inboard fuel monitoring equipment to prove compliance with low-sulphur rules.
If these guidelines are not sufficient, then there is the possibility of the guidelines being made legally binding. Under European Union rules member states that do not bring European rules into their own legislature, then they can be taken to court and fine.