Port State Control Authorities to Focus Inspections on Vessel Sulfur Reg Compliance

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday November 11, 2016

Danish Maritime Authority says Port State Control (PSC) authorities across 45 countries, under the Paris MoU and the Tokyo MoU, have agreed to conduct a Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) in 2018, focusing on sulfur emissions from ships, including emission control area (ECA) compliance, where applicable.

The news follows an announcement earlier this year that Paris MoU had decided that it would run a CIC focussing on MARPOL Annex VI compliance in 2018.

Since then, the Danish Maritime Authority says that cooperation on efficient enforcement has become even more important upon the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) recent decision that a sulfur limit of 0.5 percent will be implemented from 2020.

"We have achieved two important results. Firstly, all over the world there will be even more focus on whether ships meet the sulfur limits," said Peter Krog-Meyer, Senior Adviser of the Danish Maritime Authority.

"Secondly, it is a strong signal that so many important port States now clearly show that we have joined forces in our efforts to enhance the enforcement of the sulfur provisions across the borders."

The maritime authority says that the 2018 campaign stems from Danish efforts toward enhanced international focus on enforcement.

"In Denmark, we have been striving to ensure stronger enforcement for years, and the 2018 inspection campaign is merely one element of much greater efforts that are already being made. And this process will be speeded up in 2017 after the IMO decision on a global sulfur limit in 2020," said Krog-Meyer."