Hudson Shipping Lines Quits Sulfur Regs Lobby After a Week

Hudson has change of heart on Trident Alliance membership. File Image / Pixabay

US-based Hudson Shipping Lines has quit the Trident Alliance, the industry's principal sulfur regulations enforcement advocacy group, after just one week.

Instead, the shipping firm says it will lend its support to an anonymous, anti-scrubber campaign called the Environmental Protection Alliance (EPA).

However, the move has raised eyebrows in some quarters as to whether or not it is genuine.

Hudson joined Trident Alliance on October 10 "to ensure that the shipping industry lives up to the standards set by the global sulphur cap" and to encourage the "spirit of the sulphur rules". The press release included a reminder of Hudson's intentions not to charter or use vessels with open- or closed-loop exhaust scrubbers.

A week later, Hudson said it "will be withdrawing its membership from the Trident Alliance due to the organization's incompatible views with Hudson on the enforcement of the IMO rules".

Although the call to change the rules on scrubber use has received wide media coverage, the IMO2020 rule, both as it stands and as is being advocated for by the Trident Alliance, is clear: The use of scrubbers is not only permitted but IMO anticipated some 3,600 vessels would use scrubbers as part of the 2020 compliance picture.

It further transpires that several members of Trident Alliance are prominent members of scrubber advocate group Clean Shipping Alliance 2020.

The EPA, which had little public profile until it broke the news of an apparent scrubber failure last month, has declined to reveal the identity of any of its members.

According to its website, it represents "financial institutions, pension funds, individuals and organizations committed to the preservation and conservation of the Earth's resources and our environment".

In an emailed response to a request for further information, Ship & Bunker was told that "the individual members of EPA wish to remain confidential because some have experienced relentless harassment by large, deep-pocketed companies from past environmental endeavours".

Tradewinds reported Monday that its investigation into EPA's backers revealed it had a number of apparent links with Hudson and related entities, including emails being sent from common IP addresses.

Hudson has denied any involvement with EPA prior to last week's pledge to back them.