Asia/Pacific News
Hong Kong: Extended Low Sulfur Incentive Scheme Will Help Shipping Industry Cope with Increased Costs During Transitional Period
The Government of Hong Kong says a 30 month extension to its low sulfur fuel switching incentive scheme will "help the shipping industry cope with the increased operating costs of the fuel switch during the transitional period", Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, Secretary for Transport and Housing, said last week.
Introduced in September 2012, the scheme was originally intended to run for three years but will now continue to be in effect until the end of March 2018.
The move comes ahead of a July 1, 2015 introduction of a mandatory 0.5 percent cap on the sulfur content of marine fuel used by ocean-going vessels (OGV) berthed in Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong will be the first port in Asia to require ocean-going vessels to switch to lower-sulphur fuel while at berth in coastal waters," Bing-leung said at at the opening ceremony of Global Port Research Alliance Conference.
"Shipping and port development would not be sustainable without corresponding measures to encourage and enforce environmental protection measures and practices."
The incentive scheme reduces by half the port facilities and light dues levied on ocean going vessels that switch to fuel with sulfur content of maximum 0.50 percent by weight when at-berth in Hong Kong waters.
Earlier this year Hong Kong-based public policy think tank Civic Exchange criticized the extension proposal, calling it a "calculated attempt to prevent cost-conscious ship operators from going to Shenzhen and other neighbouring ports where regulation on marine fuel quality is lacking."
