EMEA News
VDR: Upcoming Global Sulfur Cap Will Be "Quite the Challenge" and "the End of Heavy Fuel Oil for Shipping"
A more stringent global sulfur cap on bunkers, set to be imposed in either 2020 or 2025, will be "quite the challenge," said Martin Kröger, managing director of the German Shipowners' Association, Verband Deutscher Reeder (VDR), in an interview published Monday by the Motorship.
Kröger says that a stricter global sulfur cap will not only mean the end of heavy fuel oil for shipping, but could be challenging in terms of compliance and enforcement in international waters.
He explains that, while there has been an adjustment period within the European emission control areas (ECAs), which now enjoy a 95 percent compliance rate, "on the global level, we will have to wait and see how it works."
"Of course there is an issue with compliance and enforcement in international waters and we will just have to see how the global community handles that. Meanwhile we are waiting for the IMO study on fuel oil availability, and it is hard to predict what will follow after this research project," added Kröger.
VDR is said to be "very much in favour" of IMO's approach to CO2 reduction measures for shipping, which includes three phases: data collection, analysis, and resulting discussion on which measures should be implemented.
The organisation said it would welcome mandatory requirements for ships to record and report bunker consumption, which were approved at the 69th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 69) in April.
"Shipping needs to play its part in reducing CO2. But once you introduce a measure it can be a very costly exercise so it needs to be thought through very carefully beforehand. I think the right way forward is to frame the discussion, to define what the future steps are and how much time we give ourselves," said Kröger.
Kröger says that VDR has worked with its members to determine if scrubbers are an appropriate response to such emission control regulations, noting that bringing stakeholders together in discussion is an example of how such an association should work.
Further, Kröger says that crew training is crucial in utilising such technology.
"Fuel switching was not a problem as it has been around for some time, but in general if we look at all the new technology coming into the sector, be it sensors for monitoring emissions, BWM (ballast water management) systems, it is essential to look at training and competence of crew. It is half the job to train them correctly," Kröger concludes.
In August, VDR issued a call for government subsidies on behalf of German shipbuilders to advance that country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.
