Following the Swedish Transport Agency’s decision to charge ship owners a fee for port state inspections that are carried out to ensure compliance with MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14 on Sulphur Oxides (SOx) the Trident Alliance has written a letter to the Swedish Minister of Infrastructure, raising its concerns over this matter.
The Trident Alliance views the fee charged for port state control (PSC) inspections as a concern. MARPOL Annex VI is distinguished as a Relevant Instrument under Section 2.6 of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on PSC. Under this MoU, ship owners should not be expected to pay for PSC enforcement measures, unless they relate to follow-up inspections that are necessary to confirm the rectification of previously identified deficiencies when a ship has been detained or when a ship has been banned from the Paris MoU.
However, the Swedish authorities have decided to charge ship owners a fee for random PSC inspections, regardless of the MoU on PSC to which Sweden is a signatory.
The Trident Alliance argues that it is incorrect for the Swedish Transport Agency to argue that ships fall outside of the normal PSC regime and therefore may be subject to a charge for PSC inspections.
Sweden’s decision has also caused concern for the Trident Alliance as it could suggest that Swedish authorities are not seeing sulphur regulations as the same status or importance as other duties performed by PSC, which may be seriously damaging as sulphur non-compliance is a growing concern. According to Anna Larsson, Chair of the Trident Alliance, compliance with the soon-to-be implemented global sulphur cap should play a central part of PSC inspections and should be increased and not reduced in importance.
The Trident Alliance has requested the Swedish Transport Agency to review its policy as this measure is contrary to accepted international practice.
The Trident Alliance has suggested that although it respects the Swedish authorities’ efforts to increase sulphur inspections, which require funding, it emphasised that the cost should be applicable to parties violating the regulations through fines, and not just to ships that are randomly selected for PSC inspections.
However, if this is not possible in the short term, the Trident Alliance has recommended that instead the inspection costs could be covered as part of the fairway dues system, ensuring that the shipping community pays for the inspections but are still handled as part of PSC.
Anna Larsson, Chair of the Trident Alliance commented: “The Trident Alliance members fully support the 0.1% sulphur ECA requirements and see robust enforcement as crucial for ensuring compliance across the shipping industry and with that a level playing field, as well as for achieving the health benefits of reduced sulphur levels. We would be happy to start a closer dialogue with the Swedish Transport Agency in order to share our experiences and contribute to stronger sulphur enforcement, and would to that end suggest a meeting between Agency representatives and members of the Trident Alliance Steering Committee at your convenience. ”
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