0.5% Global Sulfur Cap: ICS and INTERTANKO Push for October Decision on Implementation Date

ICS and INTERTANKO are pushing for agreement in principle on setting a date at MEPC's 69th session.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and INTERTANKO have issued a call for the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) to agree in principle at its 69th session, that a final decision on a date for implementation of the a global 0.5 percent sulfur cap for shipping should be made at its 70th session.

MEPC 69 is due to be held from April 18 to 22, 2016, with MEPC 70 set for October 24 to 28, 2016.

At present, the implementation date is set for January 1, 2020, but IMO may push this back until 2025 pending the outcome of a fuel availability review.

ICS and INTERANKO say that, while significant health and environmental benefits will be derived from a global 0.5 percent sulfur cap for bunkers, "the implementation of the global 0.5 percent sulphur cap will nevertheless have profound implications for the economics of international shipping."

"Ship operators and oil refiners will require as much time as possible to prepare for implementation," explained ICS and INTERANKO.

"The oil refining industry will need to take important decisions to ensure that sufficient quantities of compliant fuel will be available," they added, noting that a firm implementation date may affect when certain ships are scrapped.

The date of implementation of the 0.5 percent sulfur cap may also affect decisions on whether or not ships will be sent for early recycling, the groups noted.

Further, ICS has proposed that MEPC at its 69th session should "develop an intended IMO determined contribution on CO2 reduction for the international shipping sector as a whole, taking account of the UNFCCC (COP 21) Paris Agreement."

ICS notes that, in keeping with "the spirit of Paris," any plan for global shipping industry CO2 reductions will need to acknowledge that different parts of the global economy will need to decorbonise at different rates.

In addition, ICS says that any CO2 reduction targets for shipping will need to take into consideration that, unlike land transportation, "low carbon fuels are unlikely to be readily available for the transportation of maritime trade which will probably continue to be dependent on fossil fuels for several more decades."

As Ship & Bunker has previously reported, green groups had been quick to highlight the lack of reference to any shipping or aviation emissions within the COP 21 climate agreement reached in Paris in December.

In February, Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) and INTERTANKO voiced concerns over proposed revisions to the ISO 8217 specifications for marine fuels, suggesting that proposed changes to the draft international standard (DIS) ISO 8217 may undercut the efforts of the shipping industry toward improving fuel quality.