The magnitude of the sulphur cap challenge lying ahead for the shipping industry and the need for a smooth transition is raising concerns, according to International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (Intercargo).
With January 1, 2020 implementation date of International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) sulphur cap less than five and a half months away, the global availability of safe compliant fuels remains a key question largely unanswered.
Intercargo expressed its growing concern, saying that the requirement for the sulphur content of fuel oil used by ships operating outside designated emission control areas not to exceed 0.50% as of January 1 “marks a sea change in the marine fuels’ supply chain.”
“It is extremely worrying that compliant fuels have so far been made available only in a limited number of ports and under unfavourable terms for voluntary early testing by ships, as charterers/operators are not currently obliged to purchase future compliant fuel.”
Hence, the practical testing of new fuels and crew training, which is only possible under real conditions aboard ships, is very limited and pushed to the end of year – this situation creates significant safety implications for the operation of ships, which could eventually threaten the safety of seafarers, ships, and cargoes, as well as the marine environment, Intercargo explained.
In anticipation of the new fuels made available for practical testing aboard ships well before the end of 2019, the association urged that the fuel supply industry provides the market with significant volumes of compliant fuels at many ports around the world, so that all sectors can be serviced, including the dry bulk sector.
Intercargo also called on the charterers/operators to start purchasing these fuels and for the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) related to the 0.50% limit to be made available as soon as possible to provide guidance on the application of the existing ISO 8217 specification for marine fuels.
Finally, the association said that the ship owners/operators need to enhance crew training as the industry “will largely rely on their skills for managing the new compliant fuels aboard ships on the high seas to ensure a smooth implementation of this drastic change.”