Update: Carnival Australia Appeals Fine After NSW EPA Says it Used Non-Compliant Bunkers

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday May 19, 2016
  • Update: Added comments from EPA press release

The New South Wales (NSW) Environment Protection Authority (EPA) today said it has issued a AUS$15,000 ($10,850) fine after it found that P&O Cruises' (P&O's) vessel Pacific Jewel in February used bunkers with almost three times the amount of allowable sulfur content while berthed at Sydney's White Bay Cruise Terminal - a finding that is being appealed by the cruise giant.

Carnival Australia, P&O's principal, say it took the country's EPA 20 days to analyse the fuel samples that lead to the fine, and argues they did not consider available technical information that would have proven that the vessel had completed a switch to compliant fuel within the prescribed time period, local media reports.

As Ship & Bunker reported in June last year, the Australian state now requires that cruise ships berthed in Sydney Harbour use bunkers with a sulfur content of no more than 0.10 percent within one hour of berthing until one hour before departure.

A statement released by the NSW EPA Friday said the sulfur content level was 0.293 percent.

EPA Acting Director Metropolitan Greg Sheehy said: "The ship’s crew had started changing over from using high sulfur fuel shortly after the ship had berthed at White Bay, but the sample showed that the fuel being used in the ship’s engine during the EPA’s inspection did not meet the low sulfur fuel requirements."

He added that P&O Cruises Australia ships will start their changeover from high sulfur fuel earlier to address the apparent problem.

Sheehy also noted that three further samples have been taken by the EPA from the Pacific Jewel since February, all of which complied with the regulation.

But with the EPA saying it has issued three official cautions to cruise ship operators, further fines under the new regulation may be on the way.

"The EPA is running an extensive compliance campaign to ensure cruise ships are complying and the inspections will continue," he said.

"We are also investigating the results of samples from some other ships which may require regulatory action."

In September, it was reported that cruise ships traveling in Sydney Harbour have been given another three years to outfit vessels with scrubbers in order to meet upcoming sulfur emission requirements.