EMEA News
AP Møller-Mærsk Calls Out European ECA Enforcement Bias, Other Issues
According to Niels Bjorn Mortensen, head of regulatory affairs at AP Møller-Mærsk, current efforts to uphold northern Europe Emission Control Areas (ECAs) have left much to be desired, IHS Maritime 360 reports.
“We are not yet convinced that the enforcement regime is robust enough to detect all non-compliant ships," Mortensen said in separate reports, adding that compliance thus far has been “basically a piece of paper.”
“There is significant financial incentive in circumventing the new rules.”
In addition to the fact that compliance inspections have reportedly been largely taking place only in the northern part of the European ECA, country borders have also muddled compliance efforts as questions of jurisdiction are raised.
Past detection of non-compliance have also reportedly been sparse, with some fines also reportedly as low as €1,500 ($1,700).
Last week, Ship & Bunker reported that the Danish Shipowners' Association released similar statements urging for more enforcement of ECAs, especially because lax rules give operators too much incentive to flout the rules.
