Tag: 2020 sulphur cap

According to NASA, the global standard limiting sulphur in ship fuel reduced artificial “ship track” clouds to record-low levels in 2020. Pandemic-related disruptions played a secondary role.

IMO estimates that since 1 January 2020, the entry into effect of the IMO 2020 regulations led to an estimated 77% drop in overall Sulphur Oxide emissions from ships, significantly improving air quality and protecting human health.

As of 1st January 2022, all vessels navigating in Korean ports shall not consume fuel oil with a Sulphur content exceeding 0.5%.

From 1 September 2021, ship owners and operators calling at ports in Sierra Leone risk penalties of up to USD 15,000 if they carry fuel with a sulphur content exceeding 0.5%, as BIMCO urged.

The seventh session of the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III 7) has brought no further clarity regarding on what basis authorities can determine that a ship’s fuel is non-compliant with MARPOL Annex VI sulphur limits, says IBIA.

It is known that the industry has coped remarkably well with the implementation of IMO 2020. However, variable approaches to enforcement of the 0.50% sulphur limit continues to cause a lot of problems and uncertainty for the shipping and fuel oil supply industries.

Following IMO's implementation of sulphur cap regulation, Dick Farrel Camoying Technical Manager of Skuld insurance association explained that the number of claims reported to the club are not significantly higher for VLSFO compared to other fuel.

The 0.5% sulphur limit is valid for ships equal to or greater than 400 gross tonnage operating in Venezuela, but vessels under the special permit regime, engaged in coastal and domestic navigation, will continue to use fuel by national supplier, until there is availability of IMO-compliant fuel.

Speaking recently during a webinar organised by trade association management company Maritime AMC, Sacha Cornell, Fleet Manager, Norbulk Shipping, revealed that using low sulphur fuel can add as much as US$20,000 to the operational expenditure for each ship per annum.

In the first quarter of 2021 high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) has been the only bunker fuel to experience year-on-year growth in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, explains Mr. Peter Sand, BIMCO's Chief Shipping Market Analyst.