Black Sea MoU issued the results of the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on MARPOL Annex VI throughout the region, that was conducted from 1st September 2018 to 30th November 2018. A total of 139 questionnaires had at least a non-compliance to a requirement, resulting 17.8% of CIC inspections.
Aiming to clarify the situation regarding Fuel Oil Non-Availability Reports (FONARs), Skuld Club says that it is a discretionary tool for a Member State to lessen the breach of MARPOL Annex VI. However, it explains that FONARs are not an exemption but rather a self-declaration by owners that a breach has or is about to take place.
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) conducted its 52nd Committee meeting in St. Petersburg, Russian, from 13-17 May 2019. The Committee reviewed the work of the Paris MoU of the last year, also taking into account the declaration of the 3rd Joint Ministerial Conference, and took decisions for the upcoming period.
The Black Sea MoU issued preliminary results on CIC on MARPOL Annex VI, conducted by PSC officers in the Black Sea MoU region from 1 September to 30 November 2018. The overall average per cent of non-conformities was 6.62 which means that “unsatisfactory” answer was given to a question on 6.62 % of occasions.
In the week following, IMarEST announced that it will meet with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to issue papers for consideration by the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) during its 74th session.
The Hong Kong Marine Department published a notice advising operators on the amendment to the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation for incorporating the latest requirements of MARPOL Annex VI. The Amendment Regulation will come into force on 31 May 2019. The new requirements will regard all Hong Kong registered ocean going vessels (OGVs), wherever they are and all OGVs within Hong Kong waters.
In light of port of Mombasa’s efforts to reduce sulphur shipping emissions, the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) reported that it had inspected 550 ships, adding that the exercise is ongoing. Ships calling at the port are subjected to random inspections by KMA’s State control officers.
The Marlborough District Council sent a draft submission to the Ministry of Transport stating that specific regions, as Picton and the Marlborough Sounds, would benefit if New Zealand signed the global agreement that focuses on an international treaty to reduce ship emissions, saying the tighter regulations will benefit both human health and the environment.
Bunkering is considered as one of the most challenging operations and procedures on board because it requires a great level of effort, time and response in order to be conducted safely. Bunkering is also involved in the new IMO requirement toward the reduction of Green House Gases – and especially CO2 – from ship emissions, the so called IMO Data Collection System.
With new, stricter regulations coming into force regarding fuels’ sulphur content, the quality of bunkers delivered to ships is of high importance; they need to meet the agreed purchase specifications and applicable global and local regulations. Nevertheless, there are cases in which ‘bad bunkers’ are delivered, which may lead to damages to ship engines, disputes between owners and charterers, even detentions and fines.
