The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has made a number of official submissions to the upcoming International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 69th session being held next week, to instigate action on CO2, ballast water management and fuel sulphur content.
ICS has raised concerns to the Committee surrounding the reduction of industry CO2 emissions, the outstanding problems lying within the implementation of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention and the need for an immediate IMO decision on whether or not ships will have to use fuel with no more than 0.5% sulphur content come 2020.
In regards to the reduction of CO2 emissions, ICS says that the new global CO2 data collection system needs to be adopted by the IMO as soon as possible to drive new measures for further emissions reductions.
Peter Hinchliffe, ICS Secretary-General has stated that failure by MEPC to make progress could result in unilateral action against international shipping. ICS’s standpoint is that IMO and European Union (EU) measures need to use the same metrics in order to prevent market distortion. He continued to say that “Any possibility of persuading the EU to adjust its regulation to make it compatible with that agreed internationally could be weakened if there is any further delay at IMO. It is disappointing that EU Member States, acting as a block, now wish to reopen discussion on some of the data metrics on which there was seemingly consensus at a recent IMO meeting in which many EU nations participated.” ICS has set out its support for immediate adoption of the CO2 data collection system in a submission made jointly with BIMCO and Intercargo.
ICS has also separately submitted to the Committee the need for the IMO to develop an Intended IMO Determined Contribution for CO2 reduction in light of the Paris Agreement. However, international shipping should not be expected to make the same level of CO2 commitments as developed economies and ICS’ member national ship owners’ associations are now developing idea to put forward at MEPC on what IMO commitments should entail.
ICS has also stated that it is hoping that MEPC’s 69th session will make progress on the outstanding BWM Convention issues before implementation, likely to occur sometime in 2017. For example, finalising IMO Type-Approval Guidelines is key, especially for new systems coming onto the market, and addressing the problems that are associated with the time-scale of fitting equipment and the subsequent inadvertent non-compliance that is possible.
Although the IMO has stated that early movers will not be penalised, if their systems end up not meeting the Convention requirements once implemented, the United States has placed a reservation against this. Furthermore, the ICS intends to push for compatibility between the IMO Guidelines and the US Coast Guard (USCG) methodology, especially in regards to the definition of a non-viable organism and the methods for approving UV systems.
ICS, along with Intertanko also urges IMO Member States to make clear whether or not the 2020 global sulphur cap will in fact be implemented, or whether a 2025 date is more likely as ship owners will need to consider type of fuel and infrastructure if alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) are to be used.
Mr Hinchliffe stated that: “The decision will be significant because the cost of compliant fuel could be over 50% more than the cost of residual fuel that most ships currently burn. Whatever date is decided by IMO, ship operators and oil refiners will need as much time as possible to prepare for the impact. The refining industry will need to take important decisions to ensure that sufficient quantities of compliant fuel are available.”
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