A new study examining the impact of the first year of the European Emission Control Area has concluded that it has been successful in achieving its aims.
The study, conducted by CE Delft, that is entitled SECA Assessment: Impacts of 2015 SECA marine fuel sulphur limits, was commissioned by the German NGO NABU.
The study targeted certain aspects of the potential ECA impact.
Air quality and socio economic benefits
Sulphur air concentration reductions of 50% and more have been reported in port areas and along coast lines.
The study claims that the saving from the health benefits of this are 1.9 to 3.5 times higher than the increase in fuel cost
The study places the health cost saving at between 4.4 and 8.0 billion euros whilst the additional fuel costs have been quantified at 2.3 billion euros.
Fuel availability, economic impacts and modal shift
The unexpected drop in oil prices has meant that prices of MGO have in fact fallen over the last year despite the increased demand.
The study believe that there have been no significant shifts towards road transport so far for RoRo transport which was believed to be the most at risk of modal shift./
It is noted , however, that increasing oil prices could change the situation as RoRo transport is relatively more sensitive to fuel price increases than truck transport.
Compliance, enforcement and surveillance
This past year, inspections have revealed that the large majority of ships are compliant with the regulations
According EMSA data, there is between a 3 and 9% of the ships non-compliance rate in the Baltic Sea and North Sea ports respectively.
Figures on the compliance on open sea are acknowledge to be rather scarce with experts suggesting there is greater risk of non-compliance on open sea because of the large economic benefits.
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