The Norwegian Maritime Authority issued five fines for breaching sulphur regulations during 2018 in comparison with two in 2017. Except the five violation fines, NMA sent three additional notices for breach sulphur regulations, which are being processed for the time being.
Specifically, as NMA reported the fines had a variety from NOK 250,000 ($29,000) and NOK 600,000 ($70,000). In 2017, fines ranged between NOK 200,000 ($25,000) to NOK 400,000 ($50,000).
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
In 2018, the NMA conducted 327 document controls and took 198 fuel samples compared to 333 document controls and 230 fuel samples in 2017.
In 2017, the Maritime Authority confirmed it had sent two notices of violation fines for sulphur regulation breaches that occurred both inside and outside the sulphur emission control area during 2017.
Generally, Norway is very supportive of IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap regulations, as in the past it has proposed stricter regulations concerning emissions to ensure a better environmental footprint in the area of Fjords.
The proposal includes stricter sulphur requirements for the entire area, stricter requirements for NOx emissions, prohibitions against the discharge of sewage, regulations on the use of scrubbers and requirement for an environmental instruction.
Concluding, the Norwegian Maritime Authority checks whether the ships comply with the current regulations regarding sulphur content in their fuels. In order to make their work more effective, Norway uses drones, that measure the sulphur content in the exhaust.
