Maersk Line: Europe Needs Effective ECA Enforcement, Like North America

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday April 22, 2014

Maersk Line says Europe must adopt strong enforcement measures in its Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) to prevent an economic disadvantage for companies that obey new sulfur limits that take effect next year, industry news site Seatrade Global reports.

"We see a very strong and effective enforcement regime in North America we can't say the same is happening in Europe, and we fear that might lead to non-compliance on the part of some actors in the shipping industry," said Jacob Sterling, head of sustainability for the company.

Sterling said none of its ships were inspected for compliance with current fuel rules in North Europe in 2012, and fines for ships that do violate the rules are not high enough to provide an effective deterrent.

"We do support the regulation coming in 2015, it makes a lot of sense, and it's a level playing field, but when the regulators do that they also have to ensure it is effectively enforced," Sterling said.

"We will follow the rules and we hope everybody else in the industry will do the same but we need to be sure to have a truly level playing field."

A recent report by Dutch analyst SeaIntel found that fines in Europe are not high enough to make it economically advantageous to follow the new ECA rules.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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