The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has submitted a paper to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Intersessional Working Group (ISWG) on the implementation of the 2020 global fuel oil sulphur standard.
The co-sponsored submission is intended to assist the ISWG in developing guidelines on the implementation of regulation 14.1.3 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI in order to address the concerns voiced by the shipping industry.
Decided at the 70th session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the regulation limits sulphur in fuel oil to 0.50% when operating outside of designated Emission Control Areas (ECAs) and retains 01 January 2020 as the effective date for the shift to the new standard.
Theo Xenakoudis, Director, Worldwide Business Operations, International Registries, Inc. (IRI), said, “this paper allows the shipping community to have a voice in the development of rules that shape our industry. We are happy to be the catalyst for smart regulation that has been crafted with careful consideration from everyone it effects. Shipowners in particular will bear the impact of this transition and this will hopefully resolve some of the concerns about the regulation.”
