Sulphur cap guidance to speed through IMO

The subcommittee agreed to develop the guidelines and approved their outline during a week of discussions in London. A draft will be fleshed out at an intersessional meeting to be held on 9-13 July.

Recognising the short timeframe for ship owners to prepare, the subcommittee has asked that consideration of the guidelines be expedited to the next meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) after the intersessional meeting, in October. They would usually be discussed at the following PPR meeting, in early 2019, before being submitted to the MEPC.

The scope of the guidelines includes: preparatory and transitional issues relating to ships (including timelines), impact on fuel and machinery systems; verification issues; availability information and safety implications.

The guidelines are just one element of a work plan on the sulphur cap, to be taken up at the July session. Several regulatory texts and guidelines also need amending to reflect the new regulations.

As reported, delegates at PPR forwarded two proposals to the MEPC supporting a ban on the carriage of non-compliant fuel from 2020, to make enforcement of the sulphur cap simpler for port state control.