EMEA News
ICS: Shippers Totally Committed to 2015 ECA Rules, but Consistency in Enforcement Needed
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says there is "no reason to suggest there will not be full compliance" with new 2015 Emissions Control Area (ECA) rules, but called for consistency in their enforcement across jurisdictions.
"The shipping industry is fully committed to total compliance with the 0.1% sulphur in fuel requirements," said ICS in a statement.
"But there is nevertheless concern amongst those owners who know that they themselves will comply but who may worry about their competitors," added Simon Bennett, ICS's Director of Policy & External Relations at the Mediterranean Bunker Fuel Conference in Barcelona.
From January 1, 2015, ships sailing within North American and European ECAs will be required to use fuel with a sulfur content of 0.10 percent or below by weight, or use alternative methods to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions to an equivalent level, such as fitting scrubbers.
With the new rules set to dramatically increase costs for shippers, some players have suggested deliberate noncompliance would cost less than complaince if enforcement was lax or penalties were set too low.
The U.S. has made clear its position, making the supply of false information by ships a criminal matter, but there is still uncertainty over how rigorously different national authorities in Europe will deal with compliance.
Shipping firms will be investing billions in implementing compliance measures, said ICS, but enforcement of rules is set to be fragmented across national and regional lines.
"It therefore seems only fair that governments should implement the rules in a uniform manner as we enter a brave new world in which fuel costs, for some ships, will increase overnight by around 50%," said Bennett.
ICS has also said that while reducing fuel flash point levels may help increase the availability of lower sulfur fuels, the issue is a "highly controversial" one.
