Asia/Pacific News
China Open-Loop Scrubbing Ban Not Yet Fully In Place: BIMCO
China is yet to fully implement a full ban on open-loop scrubbers, says BIMCO.
As Ship & Bunker reported yesterday, a document released Friday by China's Maritime Safety Administration indicated that effective January 1, 2019 it is forbidden to discharge scrubber wash water in the country's inland river emissions control areas and coastal control areas.
"Sources familiar with the matter have however told BIMCO that according to the updated regulation, the banned areas for discharging wastewater from scrubbers remain within inland ECAs, port waters under coastal DECA and the Bohai Bay waters only," BIMCO's Wei Zhuang said today.
"A full ban on open-loop scrubbers could however be adopted soon, sources familiar with the matter also told BIMCO."
The move comes ahead of the January 1, 2020 start of a global 0.50% sulfur cap on marine fuel, but China's updated emissions control area rules that also requires marine fuel with a maximum 0.50% sulfur content to be burned within the designated zones came into force on January 1, 2019.
