THE International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the recent meeting with the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) with an agreed delay on the imposing costly ballast water scrubbing.
This would allow retrofitting of new ballast water treatment equipment to be spread over five years instead of two or three years as the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention currently requires.
"If this commitment to amend the BWM Convention as soon as it enters into force is confirmed, as we hope by the IMO Assembly in November, this will remove a great deal of the uncertainty that has been hanging over the industry," said ICS chairman Masamichi Morooka.
"We are pleased governments have listened to ICS as we have explained our concerns about these complex implementation challenges," he told the recent ICS annual general meeting in Oslo.
ICS members also stressed the importance of all proposals for environmental regulation to be subjected to cost benefit analysis as they are with proposals on maritime safety, reported London's Tanker Operator.
For example, such was not done ahead of the enforcement of the imminent switch to costly distillate fuel that will be required to comply with new IMO sulphur regulations beginning with the 0.1 per cent sulphur in fuel requirements in 2015.
ICS members continued to express concern about fuel availability. The ICS continued to urge governments to advance the timing of the fuel availability study that IMO must complete under the terms of the marine pollution MARPOL Convention.
"We will continue to press governments on this issue to raise much needed awareness of the wider implications of the introduction of the global sulphur cap as well as the impact of the ECA requirements" said Mr Morooka.
"The massive increase in demand for distillate fuel for ships is also likely to have economic and practical impacts on shore-based transport and industry," he said at the recent ICS annual general meeting in Oslo.
As it stands, low sulphur fuel costs US$1,000 a tonne versus $600 for standard bunker.
Also arising are problems with the IMO's mandatory system of CO2 emissions monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV).
Said Mr Morooka: "ICS will support MRV provided that any measure adopted is developed and agreed at IMO and that it will be simple to administer and based primarily on fuel consumption measured by bunker delivery notes."
WORLD SHIPPING
17 June 2013 - 20:30
International Chamber of Shipping welcomes IMO reprieve on ballast water
THE International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the recent meeting with the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
WORLD SHIPPING
17 June 2013 - 20:30
International Chamber of Shipping welcomes IMO reprieve on ballast water
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