ICS Seeks Clarity on ECA Enforcement

General Secretary Richard Schiferli said the Paris MOU will review the recommendations

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is calling for the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to harmonise the enforcement of new emissions rules by port state control (PSC) authorities, industry news site TradeWinds reports.

"The shipping industry is investing billions of dollars in order to ensure compliance with this major regulatory change, and the huge costs involved could have a profound impact on the future structure of the entire shipping industry," said ICS Secretary General Peter Hinchliffe.

"We therefore think it is vital that governments get the details of any PSC intervention right as we enter a new world in which fuel costs for many ships will increase overnight by 50% or more."

In a letter, the ICS proposed a series of steps to ensure that authorities throughout Northern Europe and North America take the same approach to enforcing the 0.10 percent sulfur cap that takes effect in Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) at the start of next year.

Paris MOU General Secretary Richard Schiferli said the organization already has guidelines in place for implementation of the rules but that it will consider the ICS proposals at an advisory board meeting in September.

The ICS argues that port-state inspections should mainly use bunker delivery notes, sampling and analyzing fuel only if the note "suggests clear grounds to suspect non-compliance."

The group is also seeking clear, consistent approaches to sampling, to procedures for moving through ECAs without calling at a port, to distinguishing between technical violations and deliberate use of non-complying fuels, and to inspecting vessels using scrubbers or liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel.

"There is only six months to go and it is vital that the Paris MOU and its member states – in co-ordination, as may be appropriate, with the United States and the European Commission – clarify all of the details of ECA implementation with respect to PSC inspection as soon as possible," said Hinchcliffe.

As the start date of the new rules get closer, a number of parties, including the industry group Trident Alliance, are seeking strong and consistent enforcement measures.