Picture courtesy of IMO
This month, at IMO’s 70th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee it will be decided when sulphur in marine fuel is be globally limited to 0.5% for ships operating outside of Emission Control Areas. The start dates under consideration are 2020 or 2025. Read more
Expert papers submitted to IMO will guide the 2020/2025 decision and will present various scenarios around the availability of fuel and alternative compliance technologies.
It is believed that at least one paper will use a scenario in which some 15% of the global fleet, in terms of ship numbers, are fitted with scrubbers. Depending upon the deadweight tonnage of the ships placing scrubber orders this could equate to nearer 30% of global fleet fuel consumption.
Scrubber vendors are ready to meet the demand, but are facing the challenge of delayed decision making by regulators, which results in the need for accelerated design and installation processes. An early decision is therefore essential to enable an ordered, safe and economic installation window prior to 2020. Read more
For marine engineers of a certain age, it used to be necessary to increase the electrical power available to the ship by manually synchronising the supply of an incoming generator with those already online using a series of lights. As the phases of the electrical supplies became properly aligned, the lights would flash ever more slowly, and at the right moment the engineer (with a little nervous anticipation) would close the breaker and put the generator ‘on the board’.
What has this to do with sulphur regulations, I hear you say? Well, phases and phasing in are words that may also be heard at MEPC 70 regarding introduction of the 0.5%S limit. Read more
Headquartered in Norway with offices in Belgium, Russia, Ukraine and USA. The Bellona Foundation is a not-for-profit NGO that aims to combat climate challenges by “identifying and implementing sustainable environmental solutions”
During a recent press conference at SMM 2016, Hamburg, Jan Kjetil Paulsen, Bellona’s Senior Adviser Shipping spoke about why IMO originally introduced the 0.5%S limit and why it must be implemented in 2020. Read more
