BIMCO has praised the work of the IMO’s 73rd Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MPEC), held last week in London.
Two key developments were the adoption of a carriage ban on non-compliant fuels from March 1, 2020, and the compromise reached on collecting data from the world fleet on fuel oil non-availability and quality without any delay in the implementation of the 2020 sulphur rules.
BIMCO has also been a proponent for a carriage ban of non-compliant fuel, unless the ship has a scrubber installed, and is pleased to see it adopted with a start date of March 1, 2020.
“The carriage ban on non-compliant fuel is critical in order for the member states to be able to enforce the sulphur regulation,” said Lars Robert Pedersen, BIMCO deputy secretary general.
IMO asked for proposals to establish necessary additions to the Global Integrated Shipping Information system (GISIS) to incorporate data from the experience ships gain on fuel oil availability and fuel quality.
“We are overall very satisfied with the outcome of MEPC 73. The industry retains a fixed implementation date, which is important, while we at the same time address the safety concerns.”
“In BIMCO we will work diligently to craft proposals that will enable the shipping industry to harvest experience to reduce the risk of safety issues,” Mr Pedersen added.
The next MEPC meeting is scheduled for May 2019.
