IMO Details Cases of Non-Compliant "ECA" Bunkers

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday February 16, 2015

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has released a list of cases where bunker buyers purchased fuel that was intended to be compliant with Emissions Control Area (ECA) rules, but subsequent testing showed them to exceed the required 0.10 percent sulfur cap.

P&I Club West of England noted that in cases where a bunker supplier's product does not comply with MARPOL Annex VI requirements or fails to follow the sampling procedures set out in IMO Resolution MEPC.96(47), the receiving vessel should issue a Note of Protest to the supplier and send copies to the local port state authority, the vessel's flag administration, and the company.

A copy should also be kept on board.

The log of around 100 cases provided by the IMO was a summary of the Notes of Protest received by Cyprus and Liberia between July 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014.

Most of the cases involved bunker delivery notes (BDN) that indicated compliant fuel, but were found to be non-compliant after further testing.

Last month, four shippers were collectively fined $146,719 by the California Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) after violating local fuel switching rules.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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