Environmental Rules Could Cost $500B Over a Decade

Bennett said IMO BWM rules might not be "fit for purpose"

Environmental regulations could cost the shipping industry $500 billion or more over the next 10 years, Simon Bennett, director of external relations for the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) told the annual International Shipping Conference in London last week, according to industry news site Seatrade Global.

Participants in the conference discussed the need for simple rules to address environmental issues, along with effective technology to ensure compliance.

In particular, industry representatives expressed concern about the Ballast Water Management (BWM) convention, which is likely to take effect in 2016.

Bennet said the regulation might "not be fit for purpose" since the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has 18 sets of guidelines, and some BWM systems are IMO type-approved but not approved by the US Coast Guard.

Tony Knap, a professor of oceanography at Texas A&M University, said a US National Academy of Sciences report from two years ago shows that BWM would not effectively stop problems with invasive species.

Conference participants also discussed the importance of effective enforcement of environmental rules such as new limits on sulfur emissions.

"We need regulation because it levels the competitive situation," said Joe Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America.

"But give us regulations that work, not regulations that don't work and then you are saying we are doing something wrong."

ICS Chairman Masamichi Morooka said recently that the IMO and national authorities must address issues around the implementation of environmental regulations to avoid "confusion and market distortion."