During the 2019 SAFETY4SEA London Conference, Mr Martin Dorsman, Secretary-General, ECSA, described how the shipping industry will meet the 2020 sulphur cap. Mr Dorsman explained what the challenges will be and what the industry can do to mitigate them.
Since September 2008 and the collapse of the Lehmann Brothers bank, there is not a real structural recovery in shipping markets, but there are some exceptions. One exception is the cruise industry, which makes huge amounts of money and is investing in newbuilds. Also the offshore wind energy is doing rather well, with all the new projects being built.
Regarding 2020 and global sulphur cap, I want to mention that we are concerned as an industry about the new fuels that will be there. The big question is will the compliant fuels also be safe fuels.
If you look at the total bunker supplies for the world fleet, it is about 300 million tons. Around one third is in Singapore, Fujairah, Rotterdam and Antwerp, with two thirds being all over the globe. Especially for ship-owners of deep sea bulker vessels, they are concerned about the quality of the new fuels.
So what do we do as an industry? We must prepare ourselves, while IMO supports the industry in preparing for the new situation by publishing guidelines on:
- Risk assessment and mitigation plan (impact of new fuels);
- Fuel oil system modifications and tank cleaning (if needed);
- Fuel oil capacity and segregation capability;
- Procurement of compliant fuel;
- Fuel oil changeover plan (conventional residual fuel oils to 0.50% sulphur compliant fuel oil);
- Documentation and reporting… (read more) source – https://safety4sea.com/cm-environmental-challenges-toward-2020/