SHIPPING associations representing 90 per cent of the world's merchant fleet have proposed a mandatory global tax of US$2 on every tonne of marine fuel consumed, the proceeds of which would go to a new entity, the International Maritime Research Fund (IMRF).
The R&D proposal would deploy a ready-to-use automated payment system to handle carbon tax collection.
Research & development spending would be coordinated by the International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB). Its goal is to debut 'zero-emission vessels by 2030.
The proposal is said to serve as a blueprint on how the industry wants a future global carbon tax to be introduced - if member states of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ever agree to do so, reported American Shipper.
The proposed $2 per ton tax is based on the assumption that the maritime industry burns 250 million tons of fuel oil per annum and that the R&D programme requires $5 billion in industry funding.
The industry's R&D proposal will be considered at the IMO meeting in March 2020. Assuming the proposal passes and becomes effective in 2022, the R&D programme would not be fully funded until 2032.
In practical terms, the effect of the R&D levy on shipping markets would be extremely small. In the case of container shipping lines, the very minimal extra expense could be passed along to cargo shippers as part of existing fuel surcharges.
For a ship with a capacity of at least 10,000 TEU, travelling at 22 knots and burning 250 tons of fuel daily, the annual R&D tax would amount to $125,000 (assuming 250 days at sea), meaning that per TEU rates would raise by just a few cents.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper, 'Carbon Taxation for International Maritime Fuels: Assessing the Options,' published in September 2018, discussed an example of a carbon tax of $24 per ton of bunker fuel starting in 2021, rising to $240 per ton by 2030.
WORLD SHIPPING
The R&D proposal would deploy a ready-to-use automated payment system to handle carbon tax collection.
Research & development spending would be coordinated by the International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB). Its goal is to debut 'zero-emission vessels by 2030.
The proposal is said to serve as a blueprint on how the industry wants a future global carbon tax to be introduced - if member states of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ever agree to do so, reported American Shipper.
The proposed $2 per ton tax is based on the assumption that the maritime industry burns 250 million tons of fuel oil per annum and that the R&D programme requires $5 billion in industry funding.
The industry's R&D proposal will be considered at the IMO meeting in March 2020. Assuming the proposal passes and becomes effective in 2022, the R&D programme would not be fully funded until 2032.
In practical terms, the effect of the R&D levy on shipping markets would be extremely small. In the case of container shipping lines, the very minimal extra expense could be passed along to cargo shippers as part of existing fuel surcharges.
For a ship with a capacity of at least 10,000 TEU, travelling at 22 knots and burning 250 tons of fuel daily, the annual R&D tax would amount to $125,000 (assuming 250 days at sea), meaning that per TEU rates would raise by just a few cents.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper, 'Carbon Taxation for International Maritime Fuels: Assessing the Options,' published in September 2018, discussed an example of a carbon tax of $24 per ton of bunker fuel starting in 2021, rising to $240 per ton by 2030.
WORLD SHIPPING