Carriage of Palm Oil Mill Effluent
There has been considerable confusion in recent years over the carriage of Palm oil mill effluent, and even exactly what it is. The ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) has recently issued a guidance document on POME which clarifies that POME is the “unavoidable wastewater arising from palm oil production at a palm oil mill”, and POME oil is the oil recovered from that wastewater. In October 2021 the ESPH working group agreed to carriage requirements proposed by Finland in respect of two POME products, namely Palm oil mill effluent oil and Palm oil mill effluent oil fatty acid distillate. These submissions had been made following evaluation of the data provided to the GESAMP group of scientists and the assignment of GESAMP Hazard Profiles. Both products were assessed as pollution category Y and ship type 2, and it was agreed that the previous entry for Palm oil mill effluent technical oil with pollution category X that had been agreed earlier in the year as a precautionary approach should be deleted. The two new entries will appear in List 1 of MEPC.2/Circ. 27.
Covid-19: Recommendations and Guidance
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic a number of sets of guidance and recommendations have been issued to assist in maintaining the global supply chain and ensuring the welfare of seafarers. The documents can be accessed via a dedicated area of the IMO website: http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx For ease of reference we attach some key documents below. Preliminary recommendations for governments and national authorities on the facilitation of maritime trade during the Covid-19 pandemic: https://docs.imo.org/Shared/Download.aspx?did=122607 Framework of protocols for ensuring safe ship crew changes and travel: http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Documents/COVID%20CL%204204%20adds/Circular%20Letter%20No.4204-Add.14%20-%20Coronavirus%20(Covid-19)%20-%20Recommended%20Framework%20Of%20Protocols.pdf Guidelines for ensuring a safe ship-shore interface between ship and shore-based personnel: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8u1h3ajpi1o0hup/Covid-19%20Ship-Shore%20Interface.pdf?dl=0 Operational considerations for managing Covid-19 outbreaks on board ships: http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Documents/Circular%20Letter%20No.4204-Add.3.pdf
BMP West Africa
Increasing concern about the safety of seafarers on the coast of West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea has led to the publication of Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy and Enhance Maritime Security off the coast of West Africa including the Gulf of Guinea with the aim of helping ships to avoid becoming victims of such incidents. https://www.maritimeglobalsecurity.org/media/1046/bmp-west-africa.pdf
International Maritime Research Board
The proposal originated by a wide group of industry associations for the establishment of an International Maritime Research and Development Board and Fund aimed at generating core funding of around USD 5 billion over a 10-year period to be used to accelerate the development of commercially viable zero-carbon emission ships was updated and submitted to MEPC 76 with a number of member state co-signatories. The $5billion is envisaged to be collected through a mandatory contribution of around $2 per tonne of fuel delivered to ships, but the paper also envisages contributions from other stakeholders, such as engine manufacturers and shipyards, potentially increasing the funding available. The proposal sets out details for governance and funding of the coordinated R&D programme, which could be put in place by 2023 via amendments to MARPOL Annex VI. It should be noted that this proposal is not designed as a market-based measure. It is an attempt to encourage the development of systems that will allow the industry to decarbonise. Only once alternative fuels and technologies are commercially available will there be any value in discussing ways to encourage their uptake, although it will still be necessary to take into account the views of developing countries who have genuine concerns that any levy pitched at too high a level could have a detrimental impact on their trade. The reaction to the proposal at MEPC 76 was mixed, with support from a number of member states, but opposition from others, particularly those who support the introduction in the short term of a market-based-measure. The proposal will be discussed further at MEPC 77 in November.
Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Shipping
The amendments to MARPOL Annex VI approved at MEPC 75 to mandate technical and operational measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping were formally adopted at MEPC 76 in June 2021 and will enter into force on 01 November 2022. Under these new regulations ships will be required to amend their SEEMP to set out how they will achieve the required reductions in carbon intensity by 01 January 2023 and verify that their ships meet EEXI requirements by the first survey after 01 January 2023. Details of the measures, including baselines and reduction factors, have been included in guidelines but but the intention is eventually to develop a Code that will make them mandatory and legally enforceable. Dependent on how successful they have been in reaching the required annual reduction target, ships will be rated as A, B, C, D or E, with C being the required level, classed as Moderate; A and B classed as Major superior and Minor superior; and D and E as Minor inferior and Inferior. A ship rated as D for 3 consecutive years or as E will be required to develop a plan of corrective actions to bring it in line with the required level of carbon intensity. The proposal in respect of an International Maritime research Board to fund research and development into low and zero carbon technologies will be discussed further at MEPC 77 in November 2021, while mid and long term measures, including the bunker levy proposed by the Marshall Islands, will be discussed at an intersessional working group in October.
Implementation of 2020 Sulphur Cap
MEPC 74 finalised finalised amendments to MARPOL Annex VI in respect of sampling of “in-use” and “onboard” fuel oil. Ships will be required to have dedicated sampling points for the taking of samples of in-use fuel no later than the first renewal survey that occurs 12 months or more after entry into force of the regulation. Amendments to Appendix VI set out the procedures for testing of the delivered, in-use and onboard samples A number of sets of guidelines were also finalised in respect of the implementation of the sulphur cap, including Guidelines for the Consistent Implementation of the 2020 Sulphur Limit, Guidelines for Port State control under MARPOL Annex VI and Guidance on Contingency Measures in addressing Non-Compliant Fuel. The Guidelines for Consistent Implementation are aimed at “Administrations, port States, shipowners, shipbuilders and fuel oil suppliers, as appropriate”, and cover types of fuel, technical considerations, verification issues and situations of non-availability of compliant fuel, including a standard format for a FONAR. The Port State Control Guidelines set out procedures for ship inspections and how to deal with a FONAR. Where a vessel has been obliged to take on non-compliant fuel because of non-availability of compliant fuel, the question has been posed as to how any ROB should be dealt with once compliant fuel has been sourced. Suggestions that it should be burnt on the high seas in accordance with strict conditions were rebuffed and the Guidance on Contingency Measures offers such suggestions as de-bunkering or “managing the non-compliant fuel in accordance with a method acceptable to the port State”. The various guidelines can be found in the Members’ Area.
Amendments to MARPOL Annex II and IBC Code
Amendments to MARPOL Annex II and the IBC Code entered into force on 1 January 2021. Annex II has been amended following reports of residues of high viscosity and persistent floating substances washing up on beaches in northern and western Europe and will require a prewash to be carried out following discharge of vegetable oils and waxes in ports in the area. The products to which this requirement will apply will be indicated in column o of chapter 17 in the IBC Code referencing a new para 16.2.7 in the Code. Chapter 21 of the IBC Code, which sets out the criteria for the assignment of carriage requirements, has been extensively amended to ensure that measures imposed are appropriate for the degree of hazard posed by individual products. Chapters 17 and 18, which list the carriage requirements for products have been revised to take into account the new criteria, as well as some revised GESAMP Hazard Profiles. While there had initially been some concern that a number of high-volume products could result in Ship Type 1, that has not been the case. The most significant effect of the changes will be a steep increase in the number of products classed as Toxic, with the various requirements that such a classification brings. The text of the MARPOL and IBC Code amendments can be found in the Members’ Area.
MEPC.2/Circ.26
The latest edition of the MEPC.2/Circ. was issued on 1 December 2020. This circular acts as something of a supplement to the IBC Code and is made up of a series of lists showing products that have been evaluated and will be included in the next edition of the IBC Code, Tripartite agreements, carriage requrements for mixtures, and information on a number of issues such as contacts for tripartite agreements, lists of biofuels etc. This edition also includes a list of the products known as “Energy Rich Fuels” which must be carried under the provisions of MARPOL Annex I rather than Annex II. The Circular can be accessed in the Members’ Area.
Compliance with the Ballast Water Convention
MEPC 71 agreed a compromise proposal on effective dates for the fitting of ballast water treatment systems on existing ships. Ships constructed before 8 September this year will be required to fit a system by the date of their IOPP renewal surveyin accordance with a schedule set out in an amendment to the convention. Ships must comply by the date of their next renewal survey if that falls after 8 September 2019 or if their last survey was carried out between 8 September 2014 and 8 September 2017. Where the next survey is due before 8 September 2019, they will not be required to comply until the following survey, providing they did not “decouple” their IOPP survey by instigating it between 2014 and 2017. Until such time as ships have installed a treatment system, they must perform Ballast Water Exchange in accordance with the Convention, in other words at least 50 miles from the nearest land and in water of a depth of at least 200 metres. MEPC 71 issued a circular clarifying that where a vessel is on a short voyage and cannot meet these conditions without deviating, then it is not necesary to perform ballast water exchange. This circular, together with the revised guidelines on ballast water exchange, can be found in the Members’ Area.
Data Collection
Monitoring of fuel consumption, CO2 emitted and cargo carried commenced under the EU MRV system on 1 January 2018 for ships of 5,000 gt and above. Montioring must be carried out on a voyage basis, and the data aggregaated for reporting on an annual basis to the European Commission. EMSA has designed a moniitoring, Reporting and Verificatin system that will sit within the Thetis system and enable companies and verifiers to submit reports. The IMO’s Data Collection System will become effective on 1 January 2019, and under this system vessels of 5,000 gt and above will be required to collect information on the amount of fuel they consume, distance travelled and hours underway. The data collected over the course of a calendar year must be aggregated and reported to the Flag Administration for submission to a central databse managed by the IMO. The EU had initially indicated its willingness to align its system to a global system tht might be developed by the IMO. The system that has now been developed by the IMO, however, is much less detailed than the EU system and will only make anonymised data available to analysis by IMO member states. The EU, by contrast, plans to make data on the supposed efficeincy of individual ships available to the general public. The European Commission is currently engaged on a consultation exercise to determine whether or not the two systems should be aligned.