Fast-track emissions reduction project launched

Under the two-year Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP), the partners and several pilot countries will focus on building capacity to implement technical and operational energy efficiency measures in developing countries, where IMO says shipping is increasingly concentrated.

The lead pilot countries – Argentina, China, Georgia, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Morocco, Panama, Philippines and South Africa – will be supported in taking action to implement IMO’s energy efficiency requirements. This will include pursuing legal, policy and institutional reforms; driving national and regional government action; and encouraging industry innovation.

Funding for the two-year project was agreed in July, and the project inception meeting and global project task force meeting will take place in Singapore on 30 September and 1 October. IMO is charged with executing the project.

Mandatory technical and operational energy-efficiency measures were adopted by parties to MARPOL Annex VI in July 2011 and entered into force on 1 January 2013. They include the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for certain types of new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships.

Since the entry into force of the regulations on energy efficiency for ships in 2013, further work has been undertaken to extend the scope of application of the EEDI to include several additional ship types, to further develop guidelines to support uniform implementation, and to promote technology transfer.