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The revised MARPOL Annex VI regime governing ship atmospheric pollution has been with us for two years now. Over that time the maritime and oil refining industries have had a chance to weigh up its robust requirements. Although compliance with the regime’s ultimate regulation will not be required for the best part of a decade,possibly longer, several of the provisions have already started to bite. Some pre-emptive regional requirements which also impose controls on ship emissions – such as those in California and the European Union – have added immediacy to the debate.
All the possible solutions for Annex VI compliance involve considerable cost and technology challenges and, in the context of meeting these challenges, a decade is not a very long time. Whether refinery upgrades, complex shipboard emission abatement technologies, a new network of LNG bunkering facilities or a combination of these is chosen, long lead times will be required.
When the original MARPOL Annex VI entered into force in 2005, the regime’s global sulphur cap of 4.5% was acknowledged to be decidedly undemanding. Effectively a compromise to facilitate adoption of the instrument by the required number of maritime nations, the upper limit was easily complied with because all but the highest sulphur content heavy fuel oils were within the 4.5% threshold.
Complete Story at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5767:feature-ship-fuel--time-for-ship-owners-and-refiners-to-decide&catid=46:top-story-b&Itemid=151
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