EGCSA Welcomes PPR6 Outcome on Scrubbers

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday February 25, 2019

The Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association (EGCSA) has welcomed IMO’s continued backing for the use of scrubbers at its sixth Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR6) subcommittee that met last week.

A review of the guidelines for exhaust gas cleaning systems, resolution MEPC.259(68), was on the agenda, and one submission based an a study study funded by the German Environment Agency (UBA) concluded further research is needed to better understand their total impact on the marine environment.

In contrast, a study presented by Japan concluded that burning HFO with a scrubber is a better choice than simply burning 0.50%S fuels alone.

“All administrations during the plenary session of the recent sixth PPR sub-committee meeting again endorsed the use of EGCS as an approved option for complying with the 2020 0.5% global Sulphur target,” said EGCSA.

EGCSA Director, Don Gregory, said the increasingly polarizing debate on scrubbers was now distracting from the real issue, which is reducing sulfur emissions from ships.

“Those owners who have fitted EGCS have invested in compliance. That investment should not be undermined by controversial claims that EGCS are dirty or harmful,” he said.

“It also risks leading to a fragmented approach to compliance, with countries taking different positions on scrubber use; precisely the opposite of what the IMO is meant to achieve.”