Tag: SECA

At the G7 meeting of Environmental Ministers in Metz, France, on May 6, the Italian Minister Costa met with his French counterpart, De Rugy. Among the topics discussed, it was decided to conduct a joint initiative to get the declaration of a combined SECA and NECA for the entire Mediterranean Sea. Spain has also spoke out in favour for an ECA as well.

REMPEC, the IMO-administered marine pollution emergency response centre in the Mediterranean, has concluded a study to evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing a SECA in the Mediterranean region. It found that additional costs will be needed, but health and environmental benefits would be significant.

NABU and Ecologistas en Acción found levels of contamination up to 70 times greater in the the Strait of Gibraltar and Barcelona, than the pollution on cities. Under this light, Ecologistas en Acción called the Spanish government to join France in the creation of Sulfur Emission Control Areas that limits the entry of highly polluting vessels in the Mediterranean.

Union Maritime Ltd announced that it has secured industry's first deal with Pacific Green Technologies Marine to fit an emissions-cleaning scrubber to one of its vessels without having to pay upfront

The Swedish P&I Club advises on how to face the technical challenges of switching over from high to low-sulphur fuel when approaching a SECA. Peter Stenberg, Senior Technical Manager, Team Gothenburg, explains that to meet the requirements, a ship should already be running entirely on low sulphur fuel at the point when it enters a SECA – and the process of switching over can take at least 12 hours.

NABU has issued a new report which presents an ex-post assessment showing the first experiences under the 0.1% fuel sulphur regime. The report reveals that air pollution in the North Sea and Baltic Sea has declined considerably one year after the implementation of stricter fuel sulphur content and highlights positive impact on ship emissions. Leif Miller, NABU's CEO notes that by using better fuels, sulphur dioxide concentration have been lowered by 50% or more and concludes that ''SECA is a European success story''

  During an expert discussion in the European Parliament NABU criticised the fact that there is virtually no surveillance scheme in place to control if ships meet the required bunker quality standards when sailing the North and Baltic Sea or the English Channel. The European Sulphur Directive (2012/33/EU) however limits the sulphur content for ship fuels as of January 1st 2015 to a maximum of 0.1% for ships operating in European waters declared as SECA in order to limit the sector's massive contribution to air pollution levels. Although there is only limited data available at the moment NABU stated that the number of ships being non-compliant are expected to be well over acceptable levels. The experts explained this view by demonstrating the economic advantage for cheaters in combination with a serious lack of enforcement when it comes to surveillance and penalties. NABU CEO Leif Miller said:"We definitely face a systematic malfunction if those market participants are the losers who run ships on cleaner fuels and according to the rules. At the moment there is a huge incentive for ship owners to be non-compliant as cheaters safe ten thousands of Euros per passage through the European SECA if they use the dirty fuel ...

 According to the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/253, the European Union has mandated rules concerning the methods and frequency of surveys conducted by the EU Member States for verification of the sulphur content of marine fuels being used onboard ships calling at EU ports.Ship log books and bunker delivery notes on board are to be inspected on at least 10% of the total number of individual ships calling at ports in relevant Member State per year. Further, as from 1 January 2016, the sulphur content of fuel being used on board is also to be checked by analysing a fuel spot sample drawn from the ship's fuel service system or by analysing the relevant sealed bunker samples onboard or both of at least the following percentage of the above inspected ships:(1) 40 % in the Member States fully bordering SOx Emission Control Areas (SECAs)*;(2) 30 % in the Member States partly bordering SECAs;(3) 20 % in the Member States not bordering SECAs (30% as from 1 January 2020).Member States are to take the on-board spot sample of the fuel through single or multiple spot sample at the location where a valve is fitted for the purpose of drawing a sample ...

 Cepsa has launched three new marine lubricants designed specifically for slow-speed two-stroke crosshead engines used in large ships.These new lubricants come at a time when there are new fuel qualities available and ships must change fuel and lubricants depending on the voyage they are undertaking. The products allow engines to adapt to new  legislation that aims to improve the control over emissions.International authorities such as the International Marine Organization (IMO) and MARPOL (Marine Pollution) have set regulations lowering the amount of sulphur used in Heavy Fuel Oils used in marine fuels by ships to 0.1% within Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA).The new lubricants allow engines to produce power more effectively with lower fuel consumption ratios.The three products are made using high quality base oils and specific additives that provide a high heat resistance, as well as better protection against corrosion generated by sulphur in the fuel, high temperatures and the pressures of today´s engines. As such, demands for high durability are guaranteed in these lubricants.CEPSA GAVIA 7050 is a lubricant aimed at engines that use a fuel with a sulphur content between 1%-3.5%. CEPSA GAVIA 2550 is aimed at ships navegating in SECA zones that require fuels with a maximum ...