Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM are implementing fees they say will help cover costs to reduce sulphur emissions; the IMO announces it will not push back the deadline.
The European Shippers’ Council (ESC) is criticizing Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM for their plans to implement fuel surcharges they say will help cover costs associated with meeting 2020 global sulphur deadlines.
“Carriers impose it unilaterally without any negotiation with shippers and ignore a market approach to the global problem,” the ESC said in a press release issued Tuesday. “This does not set an ideal cooperation scenario.”
The new International Maritime Organization low-sulphur regulation will take effect at the beginning of 2020 and will require all shipping companies to reduce their sulphur emissions by 85 percent. Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM all have announced new surcharges to take effect at the beginning of 2019.
The ESC said it is monitoring bunker surcharges and encourages shipping lines to negotiate all freight costs with shippers.
“Within the new commercial framework of logistics stakeholders, the imposition of bunker surcharges restrains cooperation and lacks transparency. What is most important, it decreases potential innovative solutions and results in a low acceptance by shippers,” the ESC said.
The IMO said this week there will not be a delay in implementing the sulphur reduction. The new lower .50 percent limit on sulphur in ships’ fuel oil will be in force from Jan. 1, 2020, with “benefits for the environment and human health,” Edmund Hughes, the IMO’s head of air pollution and energy efficiency, said at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference.
The IMO said it confirmed the Jan. 1, 2020, implementation date in October 2016, “giving certainty to refineries, bunkering and shipping sectors. IMO has been working with member states and the industry to support implementation of the new limit.”
The IMO said its Environment Protection Committee is expected to approve ship implementation planning guidance as well as best practice guides for member states and for fuel oil suppliers when it meets Oct. 22-26.
The committee also is expected to adopt a complementary MARPOL amendment aimed at supporting implementation of the Jan. 1, 2020, .50 percent limit. “This amendment will prohibit the carriage of non-compliant fuel oil, unless the ship has an exhaust gas cleaning system — scrubber — fitted,” the IMO said.
European Shippers’ Council criticizes fuel surcharges
