Tag: MEPC 72

Once again this year’s agenda was full with meetings, agreements and important announcements for the maritime community. In this photo recap we have picked key moments that captivated industry’s interest in 2018.

In 2018, once again new regulations took place in order the maritime industry to stay on the pulse and remain sustainable.Namely, the latest regulatory impacting the industry within the year include 26 major updates which will define the future of the industry.

Another exciting year is coming to an end. With only few days left until the end of 2018, SAFETY4SEA looks back on the events that defined the environmental stage of the shipping industry. 2020 sulphur cap, scrubbers, LNG, emissions; these are all topics that made the headlines throughout the year. But let’s take a closer look at those topics, which now are at the core of the shipping industry.

In a recent public announcement, Greenland’s government (Naalakkersuisut) noted that it supports an IMO ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil by Arctic shipping. Clean Arctic Alliance endorsed the move by  Greenlandic politicians to support the banning of the world’s most polluting fuel. 

Although it is hard to predict what next years will bring for shipping, discussions at this year’s IMO’s MEPC brought in the spotlight a unified effort towards a more sustainable industry. IMO MEPC 72, which took place during the first week of April 2018, agreed on a target to cut shipping’s overall CO2 by adopting an ‘initial strategy’ as a first step. 

An IMO working group is meeting from 9 to 13 July, in order to develop guidelines to support the consistent implementation of the 0.50% limit for the sulphur content in fuel oil used on board ships from 1 January 2020. The intersessional meeting aims to develop detailed guidelines to support consistent implementation of the 0.50% limit.

Cargill plans to reduce shipping emissions 15% by 2020, in an attempt to comply with new regulations which mandate the reduction of pollution. For this reason, the company demanded from some of its food manufacturer customers to conduct more environmentally-friendly operations.

ECSA and MEP Wim van de Camp yesterday organised a seminar in the European Parliament to discuss the IMO initial GHG emissions reduction strategy for shipping. The initial strategy was adopted in the 72nd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the IMO in April this year. The initial IMO strategy proposes a reduction in GHG emissions form international shipping by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008, and at the same time it will pursue efforts towards phasing them out entirely. Edmund Hughes, Head Air Pollution and Energy Efficiency, IMO, highlighted the complex negotiations in order to reach the agreement. He noted that "some Member States of the IMO were saying that in 2050 due to climate change they will literally not exist anymore, as they are small island states." From his side, ECSA Secretary General Martin Dorsman stated: The shipping industry will no doubt face many challenges in reaching this target. A one size fits all approach will not be feasible and the shipping industry needs support, especially on the funding side and the regulatory side to remove barriers to innovation. The whole European maritime cluster is in an excellent position to meet the challenges and make ...

​Members of the European Parliament and other stakeholders have been briefed about the Initial IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which was adopted in April. Moreover, the measures that may be taken to implement the initial strategy, including possible short term measures, were described.

During April the Marine Environment Protection Committee agreed to move forward on developing an Arctic HFO ban. The ban on the use and carriage of HFO as fuel in the Arctic was co-sponsored by eight countries: Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand.