The new Sulphur Directive requires significant international control and enforcement. Denmark is among those taking the lead but the rest of the world must follow to ensure that ignoring the Directive does not become an attractive option. Not respecting the low-sulphur limits will be detrimental to both the climate, and to the competitiveness of Danish ships, according to the Danish Shipowners’ Association.
Since January 1st 2015, ships sailing in areas such as the North and Baltic Seas and the English Channel have been required to reduce their sulphur emissions by 90 per cent. The reason for this is to improve air quality, so that the air we all breathe becomes cleaner and healthier. But the new requirements call for international enforcement to avoid the creation of economic incentives to cheat.
“Danish shipping companies all agree on the need to protect health and the environment, and therefore support the imposition of new sulphur requirements. However, as recently highlighted by the media a key issue regarding the new requirements is enforcement. There is a lot of money to be made in circumventing the requirements of the Directive, and that makes effective international enforcement crucial. Without enforcement, we risk losing the environmental and health related improvements. Similarly, law-abiding shipping companies will suffer from unfair competitive disadvantages, and will lose out to those who cheat, “says Senior Adviser Jesper Stubkjaer, Danish Shipowners’ Association.
Since 2007, the Danish Shipowners’ Association has been working with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency in a Partnership for Green Shipping with; inter alia, a focus on enforcement. Pilot projects on measurements of ships’ sulphur emissions from aircraft and bridges have been conducted as part of the partnership, and are fully supported by Danish shipowners. All vessels in all waters should be ready for unannounced sulphur control at any time.
“Ships can be subject to sulphur testing when calling a port in Europe (Port State Control), but when ships leave a port in the North or Baltic Sea bound for a port outside Europe, there is no risk of Sulphur inspection. It is these vessels in particular that the Danish Shipowners’ Association fears will deliberately bypass the rules”, says Jesper Stubkjaer.
The new requirements have cut the allowed sulphur emissions by 90 per cent. This means a significant reduction in air pollution on land originating from ships, giving a positive impact on health and environment.
Facts
- In 2008, the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted the new sulphur requirements. In 2012, these requirements were included in the EU’s Sulphur directive.
- Since January 1st, 2015, ships sailing in the North and Baltic Sea (Emission Control Area, ECA) must use fuel with a sulphur content of maximum 0.1 per cent. As an alternative to using the expensive fuel, ships can make use of exhaust gas cleaning, thereby achieving an equivalent reduction of sulphur and particulate matter air pollution.
- In April 2015, the EU adopted requirements for control measures in relation to sulphur in marine fuel through a delegated act. As a consequence, as of 2016, one in ten ships that call European ports will be subject to a Sulphur inspection. Fuel samples will be taken from 40, 30 and 20 per cent of these ships – depending on geographic location.
- The price difference between conventional bunker fuel (heavy fuel oil, HFO, with up to 3.5 per cent sulphur) and low sulphur fuel with 0.1 per cent sulphur amounts to approximately 200 USD/ton.
- The low sulphur fuel is expected to be the solution chosen by most ships sailing in and out of the North and Baltic Sea. Installing scrubbers or operating on LNG (which is sulphur free) is only likely to be cost effective for ships operating in the ECA for the majority of the time
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Source: Danish Shipowners’ Association
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