Danish Shipowners' Association Partners with Government Ministries on Tightening Global Environmental Regs

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday December 14, 2016

The Danish Shipowners' Association today announced that the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark, as well as the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs have partnered to strengthen cooperation and dialogue across the country's maritime cluster, Blue Denmark, specifically, to ensure that tightening international environmental regulations on shipping are implemented and enforced effectively as possible.

The partnership agreement will see the development of an action plan that will include a number of initiatives, including some that will be focused on bunker suppliers, and the development of new technologies.

The action plan will also outline efforts to be made by Denmark to "convince the rest of the world" of the advantages of consistent and effective implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations.

"Large parts of cross-border air pollution originate from shipping. Air pollution is harmful to the environment and human health all over the world and, therefore, reduced air pollution will result in huge environmental and health gains," said Esben Lunde Larsen, Minister for Environment and Food.

"This will be brought about through the introduction of common international regulations and securing effective enforcement, and these are some of the goals to be aimed for by the partnership at the global level."

The shipowners' association explains that the partnership will see the three parties work together to represent the Danish interests and present proposals at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in order to maximise the environmental advantages of stricter international requirements and secure a level playing field within the industry.

"The new environmental requirements are decisive for greener global shipping, but ahead of us is a large task ensuring that the provisions are met," said Anne H. Steffensen, Director General and CEO of the Danish Shipowners' Association.

"This requires joined efforts by the authorities and the industry and, therefore, I am really pleased about the strengthened cooperation in the Partnership for Green Shipping.

As the first activity to be under the partnership, the Danish Maritime Authority held a conference today on implementation and enforcement for a number of companies, including Blue Denmark.

"It is important that the Danish maritime industries and the authorities cooperate closely to promote enforcement of the regulations if we are to ensure the best possible competitive conditions," said Brian Mikkelsen, Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.

In June, the Danish Shipowners' Association issued a call for more fact-based figures on how much the shipping industry can reduce CO2 emissions, as well as related impacts.