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017 was a significant year for environmental regulations. However, this year is even more interesting. We are now seeing the finalised decisions coming into action: regulations for monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions for all vessels above 5,000 GT in the EU entered the arena last year, making 2018 the first year of reporting. Besides that, the world’s shipping companies are about to face some more changes, as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has set new regulations for the shipping industry that will take effect starting January 01, 2020.
86 europeanbusinessmagazine.com
It’s been a hot topic for quite some time now, and some analysts say that this is going to be the most disruptive change to hit the shipping industry in its history. Although many people tend to overlook this, the shipping industry plays a huge role in our everyday lives. Almost everything that you can buy at a supermarket, think toys, electronics, power tools, materials, even computers and mobile phones — is shipped months ahead from ports in Shanghai and Hong Kong. However, there’s another side to this story. Cargo ships are significant sources of air pollution globally, and the shipping industry is one of the
world’s largest emitters of sulphur oxides, behind the energy industry. The heavy fuel oil (HFO) that is used by 80 per cent of the world’s shipping fleet is more carbon-intensive than other fuels and produces other greenhouse gasses and air pollutants — especially sulphur dioxide, which is responsible for acid rain. In 2013, the IMO had introduced the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), as a measure to reduce the CO2 emissions from the industry. With specific rules created, the IMO had instructed shipping lines to reduce their CO2 emissions gradually over a decade, mandating a 1 per cent annual improvement in the efficiency