Tag: 2020 sulphur cap

The main theme of 2019 for container shipping will be the sharing of the higher costs that are expected in various forms towards the end of the year, as the starting line for the IMO 2020 sulphur cap is getting near. These increased costs will come either because of purchase of fuels, or because of investments in scrubbers that will enable the carriage and consumption of HSFO after 1 March and 1 January deadlines.

IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response meets this week, from 18 to 22 February at IMO headquarters. The meeting will focus on finalizing draft Guidelines on the implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI. The Guidelines aim to help the preparations for uniform implementation of the lower limit for sulphur content in ships' fuel oil.

At the latest AGM of the Union of Greek Shipowners, the UGS president, Theodore Veniamis, spoke about the 2020 sulphur cap. Mr. Veniamis reinstated that scrubbers are an exception to the rule, and do not constitute an equal compliance option. He explained that their environmental impact has not been studied enough. He also mentioned that the desulphurization of ships should take place on land, and not on board.

IMO's Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) will conduct a meeting on 18 to 22 February to IMO's headquarters, London. IMO's agenda includes MARPOL Annex VI guidelines, safety measures on reducing the risks of use and carriage of heavy fuel oil, as well as measures aiming to decrease the impact on the Arctic of Black Carbon emissions from international shipping. 

Maersk is collaborating with PBF Logistics, to deliver 10% of its annual fuel demand ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 global sulphur regulation. The deal focuses on the two companies to process crude oil at CPI Operations LLC, a PBF Logistics LP terminal facility in New Jersey.

BIMCO suggested that the Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study should not include unrealistically high gross domestic product growth projections to predict future transport demand and the emissions of the shipping industry. The proposal has been made to the workshop preparing for the study, which is meeting in London 12-14 March.

The IMO are still in the process of developing a fuel oil non-availability report (FONAR) system in order to assist ships in their Regulation 18 declarations to state parties concerning the steps to be taken when a vessel is found not to be compliant. A final template for this is expected to be submitted to and approved by the IMO in May 2019.

Scorpio Tankers announce that they will have retrofitted 62 of its vessels with scrubbers, by the end of 2019. The company has chosen this technology to comply with the 2020 sulphur cap and not use compliant or LNG fuels. Overall, Scorpio Tankers informed that it entered into agreements to retrofit 75 of its MRs, LR1s and LR2s with exhaust gas cleaning systems.

Hong Kong is gearing up to use drones to monitor emissions from ships. Mainly, from 1 January 2019, all vessels within Hong Kong waters are to use fuels compliant with sulphur regulations, not exceeding the 0.5%. The sensors developed have been fitted on the drones and they measure the pollution content present in the smoke plume that is released by vessels.

The Swedish Club published the report 'Sulphur Guide', to provide technical and legal advice to the shipping industry to comply with the 2020 sulphur cap. It analyzes technical considerations when making the decision between operating with low sulphur fuels and retrofitting scrubbers and explains the implications, both in terms of compliance and in relation to the terms of any charterparty in place.