Bunker, shipping industry welcomes IMO's mandatory marine fuel data regulation
The bunker and shipping industry has welcomed the International Maritime Organization's mandatory marine fuel consumption data regulation for global shipping from 2019.
The new regulation 22A on collection and reporting of ship fuel oil consumption data and new appendices, was adopted by IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee on October 28 as amendments to chapter 4 of annex VI of MARPOL.
It requires ships above 5,000 gross tonnage to start collecting and reporting data to an IMO Ship Fuel Oil Consumption Database from the start of 2019, the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) said on its website.
"These amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 March 2018, under the tacit acceptance procedure," it added.
Under this regulation, ships will have to collect consumption data for each type of fuel oil they use, and additional, specified data including proxies for transport work according to a methodology set out in the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), the IBIA said.
The purpose of 22A is to obtain a more accurate picture of the contribution of shipping to global carbon emissions as part of a three-step approach, starting with data collection, followed by data analysis, and finally policy decisions.
It will help determine the need for further measures to enhance energy efficiency and address greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, the IBIA said.
Aggregated data will be reported to a ship's flag State after the end of each calendar year. The flag State will in turn need to verify the data has been reported in accordance with the requirements before issuing a Statement of Compliance to the ship.
It will be required to subsequently transfer this data to the IMO's database, it added.
"The adoption of the Road Map is a significant decision by IMO Member States that will give further impetus to the substantial CO2 reductions that are already being delivered by technical and operational measures, and the binding global CO2 reduction regulations for shipping adopted by IMO in 2011, four years before the Paris Agreement," Peter Hinchliffe International Chamber of Shipping Secretary General said on its website.
The MEPC agreement last week on a mandatory global CO2 data collection system is significant as the IMO data system will inform the development of a mechanism by IMO for ensuring that the CO2 reduction commitments are met, ICS said. ICS membership comprises national shipowners' associations in Asia, Europe and the Americas whose member shipping companies operate over 80% of the world's merchant tonnage.
Separately, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), an independent charity which includes charterers and ship owners, ship yards, class societies and technology companies, has also welcomed the move to develop a more definitive strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). "The development of a GHG emissions reduction roadmap to 2023, and the adoption of an initial strategy with short, medium and long-term measures in 2018 is a positive step forwards for the shipping industry," said Ian Petty, General Manager, SSI in a statement.
"However, significant work still needs to be conducted to maintain momentum and enable the industry to agree on the level of ambition for emissions reduction," Petty said.
Source: PlattsPosted On:3-Nov-2016
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