IMO adopts oil usage data requirements, GHG roadmap for shipping

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astor_funnel_tallinnNew mandatory requirements to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in international shipping have been recently adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Under the new requirements, ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above—which IMO said account for about 85% of CO2 emissions from international shipping—will have to collect consumption data for each type of fuel oil used, as well as other additional specified data including proxies for transport work, IMO said in a statement.

“The data collected will provide a firm basis on which future decisions on additional measures, over and above those already adopted by IMO, can be made,” said the industry’s regulatory authority.

The requirements were adopted by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in London for its 70th session in late October.

Under the new data collection system, aggregated data will be reported to a ship’s flag state after the end of each calendar year. The flag state, having determined that the data report meets the requirements, will issue a statement of compliance to the ship, and subsequently transfer this data to the IMO ship fuel oil consumption database. The IMO Secretariat must produce an annual report to IMO’s MEPC, summarizing the data collected without revealing individual ship information.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said the new requirements sent a clear signal that the organization was ready to build on existing technical and operational measures for ship energy efficiency.

“The data collection system will equip IMO with concrete data to help it make the right decisions, as well as enhancing its credentials as the best placed and competent forum for regulating international shipping,” Lim said.

The new mandatory data collection system will be the first in a three-step approach to decide whether any further measures are needed to enhance energy efficiency and address GHG emissions from international shipping.

The MEPC adopted the mandatory requirements as amendments to chapter 4 of annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. They are expected to enter into force on March 1, 2018, under the tacit acceptance procedure, said IMO.

They add new Regulation 22A on collection and reporting of ship fuel oil consumption data and new appendices covering information to be submitted to the IMO ship fuel oil consumption database and the form of the statement of compliance, to be issued to the ship once the relevant data has been reported. Other regulations are amended to cater for the new requirement, including those related to certificates, surveys, and port state control.

Roadmap for GHG reduction

The MEPC also approved a roadmap (2017 through to 2023) for developing a “comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships,” which foresees an initial GHG strategy to be adopted in 2018.

The roadmap contains a list of activities, including further GHG studies, with relevant timelines to be aligned with the ongoing work by the MEPC on the three-step approach to ship energy efficiency improvements. This alignment paves the way for adopting a revised strategy in 2023 to include short-, mid-, and long-term further measures as required.

For the long-term vision of the roadmap, the MEPC will address important questions such as the role of the international shipping sector in supporting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Stressing the global context of this latest breakthrough, Lim said, “IMO will inform the next Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is to meet in Marrakesh, Morocco, next month, on the tangible progress made, proving to the world that IMO continues to lead in delivering on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.”

The IMO is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.

Photo: Pjotr Mahhonin