Tag: 2020 sulphur cap

The Republic of the Marshall Islands has issued Marine Safety Advisory No 7-14 with guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This guidance addresses how the US government will implement fuel oil availability provisions for ship owners.

ECSA's Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven gave a presentation on Arctic Shipping and its Future Prospects during the Ice Day Conference, which held  6-7 February 2014 in Levi, in Finnish Lapland. His main message is that the future of Arctic Shipping depends on both regulation and economics. The ambition to develop an Arctic 'silk route' to connect European or North American ports with Asia is by no means a novelty. Changing climate conditions have reduced the number of months in a year during which the Arctic is covered by stable ice and have thus revived the centuries-old dream of the Dutch and English East India Companies. But economic, technological, infrastructural and regulatory obstacles remain as challenging as ever. The immediate future of Arctic shipping lies in its attractiveness as a destination rather than a transit sea area, with activities such as extracting natural resources, offshore shipping as well as cruise tourism. European shipping companies are developing an increasing interest in these markets, which need an adequate regulatory framework to flourish in a sustainable manner. "The growth of Arctic shipping is in destinational traffic and that is where we see a clear interest for European shipping companies", added Patrick Verhoeven, "To ensure ...

Members of the European Parliament's Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee agreed last week on a compromise position on the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of CO2 emissions from maritime transport, which lays the foundation for a global measure to reduce CO2 emissions from international shipping. Shipping being a truly global industry, regional legislation often runs the risk of reducing the competitiveness of the European maritime transport sector in this fast-moving and volatile globalised environment. The need for measures adopted and enforced at international level is therefore essential for the preservation of the EU's competitive edge. The compromise position adopted by the European Parliament essentially enlarges the scope of the initial Commission proposal for an EU law on the matter. According to the European Parliament, the MRV system should not only monitor CO2 but also Nitrogen Oxyde emissions. What is more, the European Parliament also supports the inclusion of smaller ships in the system by lowering the threshold of 5000 GT (gross tonnage) to 400 GT. However, by doing so, the EU might actually undermine its own efforts to pave the way for an agreement at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). "We realize that the position taken by the ...

On 9 January, the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee of the European Parliament held a mini-hearing on the NAIADES II programme. The first part of the hearing dealt with the integration of inland waterways in the transport chain whereas the second part of the hearing concentrated on the modernisation of the inland waterway fleet. Among speakers and MEPs there was clear agreement that the inland waterway transport sector should be given more attention. As regards the technical part of the NAIADES II package, the deadline for amendments is 15 January whereas the TRAN Committee will vote on 20 February. On the same day, MEPs debated the report produced by the Commission earlier this year which is entitled “Summary of measures that internalise or reduce transport externalities”. The report is a request of Directive 2011/76/EU, the Eurovignette Directive on road infrastructure charging. Members of the TRAN Committee considered the Commission’s report and the related study not ambitious enough for the following reasons. First, the Commission does not consider current and future national projects that will contribute to reduce external costs. Second, the document does not contemplate an analysis of external costs across the different transport modes. According to the TRAN Committee, ...

The European Union will support with €6.7 million from the TEN-T Programme a series of studies followed by real life trials to evaluate a new generation lightweight pilot scrubber solution for Ro-Ro (Roll on, Roll off) ships. The initiative also contributes to the realisation of the "Motorways of the Sea" (TEN-T Priority Project 21) concept. The studies, selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T Multi-Annual Programme, will assess, install, demonstrate and evaluate a new generation of innovative lightweight scrubber technology on two existing ro-ro vessels operating in the Baltic and North Sea. Three EU Member States - Sweden, Finland and The Netherlands - will work together to verify and evaluate the specific port infrastructure and preparatory investments needed for full scale implementation of this technology. The studies will also investigate how a financial mechanism can be set up in order to support ship owners/operators adopting the new technology and give recommendations to decision-makers on how to implement this mechanism. Dissemination of results and best practices will provide guidance to the shipping community and will assist on how to choose optimum Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) compliance strategies. The study will be monitored by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) ...

Videotel has launched a new training course, The Practical Management and Switching of Fuels, designed to ensure that switching to low sulphur fuel when operating in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) avoids the serious operational problems that at best impair a ships performance and at worst cause major damage to engines. "In the highly competitive world today of carrying cargo, shipowners face a number of serious issues," explains Nigel Cleave, CEO of Videotel Marine International. "High fuel costs and strict emission controls directly influence the way a vessel's fuel systems and engines are operated and managed. Having a thorough understanding of the challenges presented by using heavy marine fuel oil and switching to low sulphur fuel when operating in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) is essential and this new course from Videotel addresses that need. "Since 2010, many of the busiest shipping areas of the northern hemisphere are now designated as ECAs and require a switch from high sulphur to low sulphur fuel - a process that requires very careful management." The Practical Management and Switching of Fuels is designed to provide a practical guide to what is required of bridge and engine room officers and engineers to process fuel oil from ...

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has submitted a document to IMO to highlight the increasing importance of reliability assessing the availability of MARPOL Annex VI compliant fuels in a timely manner and to suggest that the successful implementation of the requirements of regulation 14 will be dependent on an early review. During MEPC 64 the Committee considered the ICS paper MEPC 64/4/17 calling for a preliminary study on the availability of compliant fuel, taking into account the introduction of the Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) to be implemented in 2015 as a test case. A number of States recognised that such a preliminary study would be advantageous whilst others considered that such a study would be of little value in assessing the 2020 availability due mainly to the differing fuels required by the 2015 ECA and the proposed 2020 requirements. The Committee agreed that this matter should be reconsidered at a future session and invited interested delegations to submit proposals to MEPC 66 (MEPC 64/23, paragraph 4.36). Many States that spoke during the MEPC 64 discussion recognised that it would be important to ascertain fuel availability sooner rather than later, and to identify what action might be necessary to ensure the availability of compliant fuel in 2020 There have ...

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has submitted a document to IMO to highlight the increasing importance of reliability assessing the availability of MARPOL Annex VI

Advanced emissions monitoring of large ships calling at EU ports could help save owners and operators of large ships up to €9 million/year, according to a new study published by sustainable transport group T&E. These savings would come from lower operational costs of using automated systems such as fuel flow meters or continuous emissions monitoring, which are already used by many of the world's largest shipping companies. Transport & Environment(T&E) has issued a new study entitlted as '' Economic impacts of MRV of fuel and emissions in maritime transport'' to estimate the potential fuel saving and therefore lower emissions costs by the MRV implementation. In June 2013, the European Commission issued a strategy to address GHG emissions from maritime transport. The strategy consists of three consecutive steps: 1. Monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from large ships using EU ports. 2. Greenhouse gas reduction targets for the maritime transport sector. 3. Further measures, including MBMs For the first step, the Commission issued a legislative proposal to establish an EU system for monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) of CO2 emissions from large ships using EU ports. Ships would thereby be obliged to monitor four parameters on a voyage basis, namely fuel consumption, distance travelled, time spent at sea, ...

EC sets up forum to tackle sulphur fuel requirements: The European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF)