A MAJOR Danish shipping company's CEO has urged a review of strict IMO emissions rules on CO2, SOx and Nox, saying they have become so burdensome that European short-sea traffic will soon migrate to the road haulage.

Norden's active fleet of 216 vessels will be particularly affected by the EU proposal to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions to 0.1 per cent by 2015 from its current 1.5 per cent in Emission Control Areas (ECA) and non-sensitive areas will need to reduce to 0.5 per cent by 2020 from 4.5 per cent.

"You have to have the infrastructure and [low-pollution] distillates available," said Norden president and CEO Carsten Mortensen, highlighting the problems of ultra low sulphur fuel providers and supply, particularly in areas of high traffic such as Northern Europe, which will squeeze supply and increase prices.

He said global supply tightness on distillates is an issue with crude oil staying relatively flat, while bunker fuel price rises further at ports around the world.

Mr Mortensen called for innovations in environmental expectations by the shipping industry because it is "becoming more and more challenging to be a shipowner now that you have to have more and more grades of different fuels on board your ships."

Despite weak markets, the world's oldest shipowner Norden posted a net profit of US$58 million for the first nine months of 2011, a $14 million improvement on its third quarter year on year.