EMEA News
Trident Alliance Protests Swedish Policy of Charging Shipowners For ECA Bunker Compliance Tests
The Trident Alliance has written to the Swedish Minister of Infrastructure to protest the country's policy of charging shipowners to test their bunkers for compliance with European Emissions Control Area (ECA) rules.
In the letter, which was released Wednesday, Trident Alliance Chair Anna Larsson said it amounted to inappropriate charging for Port State Inspections.
"Furthermore, the Trident Alliance believes that this approach sets a most unwelcome precedent. Through this practice, Swedish authorities imply that sulphur regulations are not of the same status or importance as the other duties performed by Port State Control – a position we find rather alarming.
"We already see a worrying level of non-compliance with sulphur regulations in the EU, in particular in the North Sea, and to in this way throw even more doubt over the EU commitment to enforcement of sulphur regulations is not a step in the right direction."
There was also concern that Sweden's action may lead to others taking a similar approach to the enforcement of MARPOL in general, and with a global 0.50 percent sulfur cap expected in 2020, "the focus on sulphur enforcement as a central part of port state control should be increased and not reduced in importance," she wrote.
While it was appreciated that the inspections require funding, Larsson said this cost should be carried by those violating the rules, "not by the random selection of vessels that authorities decide to inspect."
If that was not possible, then inspection costs could be covered as part of the fairway dues system, she suggested; "This way the shipping community pays for the upholding of the level playing field but inspections can still be handled as part of Port State Control."
Ultimately, while there are some exceptions such as follow-up inspections or when a ship has been banned from the Paris MOU region, Larsson said that the procedures agreed under the Paris MoU, to which Sweden is a signatory, "clearly establish that shipowners should not be expected to pay for PSC enforcement measures."
"To this end, the Trident Alliance respectfully requests the Swedish Transport Agency to review its policy without delay as this measure appears to be contrary to accepted international practice, the Paris MOU and EU Directive 2009/16."
The Trident Alliance in an international coalition of more than 35 shipowners and operators from 12 countries, "who share a common interest in robust enforcement of maritime sulphur regulations."
Earlier this year the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) and the Trident Alliance announced a partnership to ensure fair enforcement of bunker sulfur regulations.
