IMO’s MEPC 74 in May adopted amendments to MARPOL Annexes I, II, V, VI and the NOx Technical Code, regarding the use of electronic record books, approved as alternative of hard copy record books under the MARPOL Convention. The Committee also adopted guidelines to support the use of electronic record books.
The 74th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74) took place on 13-17 May at IMO headquarters in London, with key environmental subjects on its agenda, aimed at supporting the IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships and the implementation of 2020 sulphur cap among others.
During the 74th session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74), concluded Friday, IMO agreed stricter energy efficiency targets for certain types of ships, as part of its efforts to reduce shipping emissions.
During his presentation at the last GREEN4SEA Conference, Mr. Paul Flaherty, Director, Fleet & Technical Operations, Navigator Gas, gave emphasis on ethane as a marine fuel. Mr. Flaherty also presented the case of Navigator Aurora, which was the first conversion of LNG-I engine to an ethane burning GI-E engine.
At the last GREEN4SEA Conference, Mr. Panos Zachariadis, Technical Director, Atlantic Bulk Carriers Management Ltd, provides an overview of alternative fuels such as natural gas, methane and hydrogen. He presents the pros and cons of each fuel, but highlights that new technology is necessary to make IMO’s goals reality.
Gard Club summarizes the 2019 maritime regulatory landscape. The marine industry experienced many regulations coming into force on 2018, with the same expected to happen in 2019. These regulations regard crew, safety, environment, cargo, and certification.
MEPC 73 tightened EEDI requirements for certain ship types, but confirmed that ferries would be among the categories where it is appropriate to retain the original timeline and reduction rates. These had been set in three phases, requiring improvements of 10% by 2015, 20% by 2020 and 30% by 2025.
The Project Forward initiative led by Athens-Based Arista Shipping, with Finnish Wärtsilä as one of the participants, demonstrates that with LNG as fuel, an advanced hull design, and highly efficient propulsion machinery, it will be possible to meet the IMO’s target for a 40% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030.
Wärtsilä will provide an integrated cargo handling and fuel gas system for two new gas carrier vessels for Exmar. The ships will transport LPG and will be the first vessels capable of running on LPG. The Wärtsilä equipment is expected to be delivered during mid-2019, and the vessels are planned to be delivered during the end 2020.
ICS launched a new report setting out its firm opposition to the concept of mandatory operational efficiency indexing of individual ships as a possible candidate measure for CO2 reduction, because of ‘the potential inaccuracies of such a metric and the significant danger of market distortion’.
