IMO’s global limit on the sulphur content of marine fuel will come into force on the 1st January 2020 but there are still some areas where more clarity is needed, says the UK Chamber of Shipping.
The four areas where companies need more answers are the consistent enforcement on the regulation, how new compliant fuel should be handled, how shipowners can report compliance problems to authorities, as well as how to mitigate any safety issue due to the switch to low-sulphur fuel.
It is not yet certain whether there will be sufficient supply
IMO is currently working on a guidelines to support the consistent implementation of the sulphur cap in 2020, as well as, guidelines that will help port authorities to inspect the fuel.
” The organisation is also working on a fuel oil non availability template (FONAR), which would be submitted by shipowners to port state control (PSC) in the event that compliant fuel cannot be obtained,” said the UK Chamber of Shipping.
A new guidelines are developed that will address safety issues as there are instances when ships switch to it and different systems on board fail to respond.
“It is not yet certain whether there will be sufficient supply of IMO-compliant marine fuel to meet the increased demand that will begin to be seen from the fourth quarter of this year onwards, as owners prepare their vessels to be compliant on 1st January,”the UK Chamber said.
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