International Shipping association BIMCO has declared itself “very satisfied” with the carriage ban and fuel quality reporting compromise passed at last week’s Marine & Environmental Protection Committee meeting (MEPC 73) held at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization in London from October 22nd to October 26th.
BIMCO noted that two key developments were the adoption of the ban from March 1st 2020 on carriage of non-compliant fuel, and a compromise deal on collecting data from the world fleet on fuel oil non-availability and quality, without any delay in the implementation of the 2020 sulphur rules.
Lars Robert Pedersen, BIMCO Deputy Secretary General, said that the association was “overall very satisfied with the outcome of MEPC 73. The industry retains a fixed implementation date, which is important, while we at the same time address the safety concerns”.
The IMO asked for proposals to establish necessary additions to the Global Integrated Shipping Information system (GISIS) to incorporate data from the experience ships gain on fuel oil availability and fuel quality. “In BIMCO we will work diligently to craft proposals that will enable the shipping industry to harvest experience to reduce the risk of safety issues,” Pedersen said.
The association said that work was underway among interested parties who met during the MEPC meeting to sketch out the necessary elements that need to be addressed in a new proposal to IMO.
BIMCO said that it had been a proponent for a carriage ban of non-compliant fuel (unless the ship has a scrubber) and was pleased to see it adopted with a start date of March 1st 2020.