Tag: 2020 sulphur cap

Hong Kong has recorded a continuous improvement in its overall air quality. The Government will introduce more measures and keep on monitoring the situation.  Chief Executive CY Leung announced the green measures in his new Policy Address, including the new legislation that requires ocean-going vessels at berth in Hong Kong to switch to low-sulphur diesel.   Low emission zones will be set up in Causeway Bay, Central and Mong Kok at the end of this year where franchised bus companies can deploy only low-emission buses. Franchised bus companies will try out single-deck electric buses in mid-2015.  The Government is working with Guangdong authorities to explore the feasibility of requiring ocean-going vessels berthing at ports in the Pearl River Delta to switch to cleaner fuel, in addition to a plan to allocate $150 million to extend the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme to encourage Hong Kong-owned factories in Guangdong to adopt cleaner production technologies.  On promoting the sustainable development of the recycling industry, the Government will introduce a Recycling Fund, while the steering committee to promote the recycling industry's sustainable development will continue to explore and formulate complementary measures.  It will also introduce legislative proposals to implement a producer responsibility scheme on waste ...

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has proposed that the sulphur verification procedure described in appendix VI to MARPOL Annex VI should be reviewed. The argument was put to the second meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) sub-committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 2), which met IMO headquarters in London this week. “Sulphur testing is not an exact science. In commercial transactions, buyers and sellers rely on ISO 4259 for the interpretation of sulphur test results. This provides a statistically sound approach to the fact that there are inherent variations in fuel test results,” IBIA’s representative at the IMO, John De Rose, told PPR on Monday. “At present, there is a conflict between the commercial application of ISO 4259 for the interpretation of sulphur test results, and the verification procedure described in appendix VI to MARPOL Annex VI. This has the unfortunate consequence that ship operators risk receiving fuel that is regarded as within the sulphur specification in a commercial situation, but could fail the IMO’s verification procedure.” IBIA’s proposal was put to PPR 2 as a comment paper in connection with a separate proposal by IMarEST to change the text of the supplier’s declaration on the bunker delivery ...

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants has expanded the availability of its Marine Gas Oil (MGO) to include the key port of Le Havre, France. This expansion is part of the company’s offer to help vessel operators meet the Emissions Control Area (ECA) 0.10 percent sulphur limit, which came into force on 1st Jan. 2015. ExxonMobil is the first supplier to make MGO available to vessel operators in Le Havre via dedicated barge delivery. This provides faster, more efficient refueling, when compared with truck deliveries, and ensures that the required fuel volumes are available for vessels with small and big stem sizes, starting from 40mt. “We have increased the availability of MGO to help marine operators comply with the new ECA legislation,” said Luca Volta, general manager EAME, ExxonMobil Marine Fuels and Lubricants. “In addition, by offering MGO at Le Havre via barge delivery, marine operators will benefit from a faster and more efficient fuel delivery process. “ExxonMobil now supplies MGO at more than 40 ports worldwide, providing marine operators with our expertise, products and services on a Global level.” The expansion of MGO availability follows the recent launch of ExxonMobil Premium HDME 50, a new category of marine fuel that ...

On 10th October 2008, under MARPOL Annex VI, the IMO adopted the policy that with effect from the beginning of this year the sulphur content of emissions allowed in the Emission Control Areas (ECAs), including: the Baltic Sea, North Sea and English Channel, plus the USA, most of Canada, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, would be reduced. From 1st January 2015, every ship operating within the ECA areas must use higher quality fuels, the allowable emitted sulphur content decreasing from 1% to no more than 0.1%. Environmentalists and the international shipping community has in general supported this sound environmental improvement initiative. Vessels will now be required to use either a distillate fuel, an altogether alternate fuel or continue to use existing fuels but with the installation of a scrubber or gas cleaning system that removes sulphur from the exhaust after combustion. A number of international oil companies have moved to provide supplies of the regulated grades alongside their standard fuel products; for example Exxon now produces a compliant fuel known as HDME 50 which has similar properties to Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) but importantly, complies with the 0.1% sulphur limits. Whilst this fuel is reportedly cheaper than Marine Gas ...

LR has found a novel way to help shipowners and operators lower their carbon footprint and meet the recently introduced 0.1% sulphur limits in Emission Control Area (ECAs). Using a series of CFD studies and calculations, LR can ensure the washwater discharged into the sea during exhaust gas cleaning (EGC) operations complies with the acidity limit (or pH), agreed by IMO. This is commonly known as plume verification. Working with EGC system manufacturers such as Alfa Laval we have approved the pH calculations for 26 ships with a further 70 approvals planned. "The methods being used by LR ensure that discharges during wet scrubbing are regulated in accordance with the intent of the guidelines and that pollution shift is prevented. Ship operators benefit from saving fuel as a result of using less energy and, at the same time, reducing their carbon footprint," says LR’s John Bradshaw, Principal Specialist, Marine Technology and Engineering Systems. Source and Image Credit: Lloyd's Register / Image Credit: Alfa LavalIn the beginning, I was explicit with you propecia before and after has changed my subsistence. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is incredible to sit.

US EPA has issued a penalty policy for violations by ships of the sulfur in fuel standard and related provisions for assessing civil penalties applicable to North American and US Caribbean Sea ECAs. This Penalty Policy contains two components: First, it describes how to achieve the goal of deterrence through a penalty that removes the economic benefit of noncompliance, and reflects the gravity of the violation. Second, it discusses adjustment factors applied to obtain a fair and equitable penalty. These components address the statutory penalty factors discussed above. The case team should calculate the full economic benefit of noncompliance and the gravity components of the penalty, and then decide whether any of the adjustment factors are applicable   This Penalty Policy was developed primarily to address violations of the fuel sulfur standard contained in Regulation 14.4 of Annex VI as it applies to the U.S. portion of the ECAs, but a ship burning non-compliant fuel may also be in violation of other requirements of MARPOL Annex VI. For example, pursuant to Regulation 14.6, ships are required to maintain a written procedure showing how the fuel oil change-over is to be done, and a log recording change-over details, including recording certain ...

Yara Marine Technologies (YMT) received award for developing the smallest footprint SOx scrubber that can be retrofitted into any seagoing vessel. Within the next 10 years ships worldwide will need exhaust gas cleaning equipment or change to higher-cost low-sulfur fuel to comply with the latest International Maritime Organization emission regulations. From 1 January 2015, SOx Emission Control Areas will be established in the North and Baltic Seas, the North American Atlantic Coast, and the Caribbean.  Green Tech Marine changed name on the first of this year, resulting in all visual elements being integrated into the Yara brand platform and getting a clear Yara "look and feel". "In 2015, we will support this integration with common marketing activities that include a shared booth at the Nor-shipping Exhibition with all our marine activities, aligned sales teams cross-selling NOx and SOx technologies to their respective customer bases, including the sales of urea and services to the marine segment," says Industrial Marketing Director Bjorn Theijs. "With combined communication efforts, a broader audience will be reached without increasing costs."  "From a branding perspective, Yara is building more environmental solutions awareness on a global scale and raising the profile of our NOx, SOx portfolio within the ...

Falmouth port continues to profit from a mini-bunkering boom that has seen ship numbers rocket since the introduction of the stringent new Emission Control Area (ECA) regulations that came into force on January 1. All ships now travelling in a designated ECA must burn fuel with a sulphur content of less then 0.1 per cent. In the past two weeks 35 ships have made a bunkering stop here before continuing their voyages up Channel.  Many of the ships arriving for bunkers are loading marine gas oil, which complies with the new directive. An average of two/three ships a day are bunkering here, with World Fuel Services stemming list continually being added to on a daily basis.  Brent crude has fallen to below $50 a barrel this week driving down the cost of fuel. But it comes at a price, with investment in North Sea oil projects and others worldwide coming to a standstill.  Some companies are laying off shore and sea staff to combat falling prices. Industry pundits are describing the North Sea situation as being “close to collapse.”  Ship owners, particularly the container ship operators are enjoying the cheap fuel prices, as indeed are the airlines and the general ...

On 1 January 2015, new and stricter requirements for ships’ sulphur emissions take effect in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. In order to comply with the regulation ships must use fuels with a low sulphur content of 0.10 % or clean the exhaust gas for sulphur corresponding to the fuel limit value. A great number of ships are going through Danish waters without calling a Danish port. Surveillance of sulphur emission either from air of from fixed installations has been identified as an effective means to identify ships that may violate the sulphur requirements. Against this background the Danish Environmenta Protection Agency wishes to invite tenders for surveillance of sulphur emissions from ships in Danish waters. It should be stressed that the project addresses only measurement of the sulphur emissions and reporting of the results to the authorities. Any follow up actions are exclusively left in the hands of the authorities. Purpose  The purpose of the project is to support improvements of the air quality with specific focus on the reduction of the emission of sulphur and particulate matter from shipping.  The overall aim is to secure fair competition for ships operating in SECA areas. Non-compliant ships may get ...

The California Air Resources Board has fined four shipping companies a combined $146,719 for failing to switch from dirty diesel “bunker” fuel to cleaner, low-sulfur marine distillate fuel upon entering Regulated California Waters – within 24 nautical miles of the California coast. “State anti-pollution laws require shippers to do their part to protect air quality,” said ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden. “Shippers who comply are helping to protect the health of those who live, work, and go to schools near ports and shipping lanes.  Many Californians don’t realize that diesel soot and other pollutants can also travel far inland to impact communities nowhere near the sea.  Our Ocean-Going Vessels Fuel Rule strives to protect residents throughout the state from the harmful impacts of ship pollution.” Adopted in 2008, the Ocean-Going Vessels Fuel Rule was designed to reduce fine particulate pollution, oxides of nitrogen and sulfur oxide emissions from ocean-going vessels to improve air quality and public health in California. The companies mentioned below were fined for either failing to switch to cleaner fuel within, regulated waters, or for switching fuels in an untimely manner.  They all took prompt action after being notified of the violations, and, under ARB’s supervision, are ...