IMO implements rules to cut air pollution from ships
International Maritime Organization global regulations to cut air pollution caused by ships will enter into force Thursday, as the European Union prepares to introduce its own ship pollution controls.
IMO’s “Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships” are contained in annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships convention, better known as MARPOL. The latest rules were adopted in the 1997 protocol to that convention, but have not been implemented yet.
The annex set limits on sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ship exhausts, and prohibit deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances. It sets a cap of 4.5 percent by mass on the sulphur content of fuel oil, and calls on IMO to monitor the worldwide average sulphur content of fuel once the protocol comes into force.
“Most ships already comply with the main fuel quality and emission requirements established by MARPOL annex VI,” said the London-based International Chamber of Shipping and International Shipping Federation in their joint annual report, published Tuesday. “But they will also have to comply with lower 1.5 percent sulphur fuel content caps in the ‘Special Emission Control Areas’ (SECA) of the Baltic Sea, from May 2006, and in the North Sea, sometime during 2007, plus any other SECAs that may be established subsequently,” the international associations of shipowners said.
The International Chamber of Shipping expects oil companies to be ready to supply bunkers of the required standard for SECAs, but it said “teething problems” are possible, particularly where it is necessary for ships to carry two grades of fuel.
The IMO rules allow a more stringent limit of 1.5 percent for sulphur emissions to be imposed in special emission control areas.
Alternatively, ships must fit an exhaust gas cleaning system or use other methods to limit SOx emissions. The regulation requires such alternative methods to be approved by the flag state. Draft guidelines on on-board exhaust gas-SOx cleaning systems have been developed and are expected to be approved by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee when it meets for its 53rd session in July 2005.
The International Chamber of Shipping said it is disappointed that the European Union is expected to preempt discussions at IMO by adopting a directive that may require ships at berth in European port areas to burn fuel with a sulphur content of only 0.1 percent by 2010.
The IMO annex containing the more restrictive pollution rules bans deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances, which include halons and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). New installations, such as refrigeration and firefighting systems, containing ozone-depleting substances, are prohibited on all ships, but new installations containing hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are permitted until Jan. 1, 2020.
The annex also sets limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides from diesel engines. A mandatory “NOx Technical Code” establishes procedures for the testing, survey and certification of marine diesel engines which will enable engine manufacturers, shipowners and flag states to ensure that all applicable marine diesel engines comply with the relevant limiting emission values of NOx as specified in regulation 13 of the annex.
The new regulations also prohibit the incineration aboard ship of certain products, such as contaminated packaging materials and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have previously been used in a number of industrial materials.
Commenting on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions from ships, IMO said it is developing draft guidelines on the CO2 indexing scheme and has recognized that IMO guidelines on greenhouse gas emissions have to address all six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto protocol: carbon dioxide (CO2); methane (CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O); hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).