Low-sulphur fuel – carriage ban enters into force

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim presented the prize at the annual IMO Awards ceremony on 25 November 2019. Mr. Lim outlined Mr. Angelo’s long commitment to IMO and his reputation as a technical expert, diplomat and problem solver.

Accepting the prize, Mr. Angelo thanked the United States and INTERTANKO for nominating him, and the IMO Council for selecting him for the “tremendous honour”.

“It has been my distinct privilege to work side-by-side with many

Maritime prize goes to long-serving IMO delegate

The prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2018 has been presented to Mr. Joseph J. Angelo, a former United States Coast Guard (USCG) and International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) senior executive who participated in International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings for many years, providing leadership on a number of key regulatory developments.

exceptional delegates from around the world over the past 39 years – all coming together to create solutions which have resulted in crucial improvements to maritime safety, security and protection of the marine environment. I am proud to have been a part of the progress we made together,” he said.

Mr. Angelo was nominated by the Government of the United

States and INTERTANKO. In their nominations, they highlighted

Mr. Angelo’s constructive and collaborative work with all

M stakeholders to achieve outcomes. Mr. Angelo was active in a number of IMO bodies, most notably the Maritime Safety Committee

Y (MSC) and the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

The IMO 2020 regulation limits sulphur in ships’ fuel oil to a maximum 0.50%. The regulation has been in force globally since 1 January 2020, under IMO’s MARPOL treaty. It brings benefits for the environment and human health from a reduction in sulphur oxides in the air.

The complementary MARPOL amendment prohibits the carriage of non-compliant fuel oil for combustion purposes for propulsion or operation on board a ship - unless the ship has an approved exhaust gas cleaning system (“scrubber”) fitted.

The amendment is an additional measure to support consistent implementation and compliance and provide a means for effective enforcement, particularly by port State control.

Consistent implementation of the IMO 2020 regulation which limits sulphur in ships fuel oil was enhanced from 1 March 2020, with the entry into force of a rule to ban the carriage of non-compliant fuel oil.

He first attended the MEPC’s thirteenth session in 1980 and attended every session since, up to and including MEPC 73 in 2018.