#IMO2020

MSC becomes the first casualty of IMO’s Carriage Ban


Categories IMO, News, Press Release, Shipping, Vessel Operation Tags , , , , , 1 Comment  3 minutes
IMO Carriage Ban - shipping and freight resource

We previously reported that as part of MARPOL Annex VI regulation (IMO2020), the member states of the International Maritime Organisation adopted a complementary amendment which came into effect on the 1st of March 2020..

The “Carriage Ban” as it is called, prohibits the carriage of non-compliant HSFO (Heavy Sulphur Fuel Oil) for purposes of propulsion or operation on board a ship unless the ship has been fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system – EGCS commonly known as scrubber..

As from this date it will be considered an offense for any ship to be carrying fuel that contains sulphur content higher than 0.5% for purposes of propulsion or operation, unless the ship has a scrubber..

In the previous article, we raised a question “Will the IMO, which remained steadfast in its implementation of the IMO2020 regulation from 1st Jan 2020 also remain steadfast with the implementation of the “Carriage Ban” come 1st March 2020..??”..

Well it seemingly has..

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IMO Carriage Ban comes into effect and 5 beneficial changes of IMO2020


Categories Climate Change, IMO Tags , , , Leave a comment  2 minutes
IMO - shipping and freight resource

The much reported MARPOL Annex VI regulation (a.k.a IMO2020) which was implemented to lower the current global limit for sulphur content of marine fuels from 3.50% to 0.50% came into effect on 1st January 2020..

As of 1st March 2020, the complementary International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution form ships (MARPOL) amendment (Carriage Ban) came into effect..

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Carriage ban looming for ship owners and operators – IMO2020


Categories Shipping Jargon Tags , , , Leave a comment  4 minutes

The much reported MARPOL Annex VI regulation (a.k.a IMO2020) which was implemented to lower the current global limit for sulphur content of marine fuels from 3.50% to 0.50% came into effect on 1st January 2020..

This reduction in sulphur content is supposed to be achieved by way of

  • Using low-sulphur compliant fuel oil;
  • Using gas as a fuel as when ignited it leads to negligible sulphur oxide emissions;
  • Using methanol as an alternative fuel as being used on some short sea services; or
  • Using exhaust gas cleaning systems or “scrubbers”, which “clean” the emissions before they are released into the atmosphere

There is however another part of this regulation which is the “Carriage Ban” which comes into effect from 1st of March 2020..

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IMO2020 – Best practices, Guidelines for Port State Controls and more


Categories Climate Change, Executive Insights, IMO, Interviews, Maritime, Opinion Tags , , , , , , Leave a comment  6 minutes
Discussions with Shipping and Freight Resource

Maritime shipping has one of the lowest carbon emissions compared to other modes of transport..

Despite this, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the regulatory authority for international shipping, has been working to reduce the harmful impacts of shipping on the environment since the 1960s..

In April 2018, the IMO adopted an initial strategy on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels..

As part of this strategy, on January 1st 2020 IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI (colloquially known as IMO2020) regulated to lower the current global limit for sulphur content of marine fuels from 3.50% to 0.50% was implemented..

We caught up with Roel Hoenders, Acting Head of Air Pollution and Energy Efficiency, Sub-Division for Protective Measures, Marine Environment Division, with the IMO for his views on the implementation of the #IMO2020, and also to discuss the best practices and guidelines for Port State Controls (PSC)..

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One month old VLSFO already facing issues – #IMO2020


Categories Climate Change, IMO, Maritime, Vessel Operation Tags , , , Leave a comment  5 minutes
IMO2020 - shipping and freight resource

January 1st 2020 saw the implementation of IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI (colloquially known as IMO2020) regulated to lower the current global limit for sulphur content of marine fuels from 3.50% to 0.50%.. VLSFO (Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil) is one of the options suggested by IMO to achieve this reduction..

Shipping lines and fuel companies have been trying and several blended fuels that would help achieve these levels..

But the one month old VLSFO is already facing issues relating to emissions..

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Impact of IMO 2020 on the maritime landscape of South Africa


Categories Guest Article, IMO, Shipping, Vessel Operation Tags , Leave a comment  7 minutes
IMO 2020 - shipping and freight resource

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been working to reduce harmful impacts of shipping on the environment since the 1960s..

The regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships (Annex VI) seek to control airborne emissions from ships (sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone depleting substances (ODS), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and shipboard incineration) and their contribution to local and global air pollution, human health issues and environmental problems..

In April 2018, more than 100 Member States met at the United Nations IMO in London and adopted an initial strategy on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels..

Below is a perspective from Durand Richard of Linsen Nambi Bunker Services on the impact of IMO 2020 on the South African maritime landscape..

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Cost impact of IMO 2020


Categories Climate Change, IMO, Shipping Tags 1 Comment  5 minutes
IMO2020 - shipping and freight resource

IMO2020 is getting serious commercially..

As everyone may have read, as of January 2020, all ships are required to use fuel with a sulphur content of 0.5% or less on all of the world’s oceans..

The ship owners have a few options to ensure compliance and meet lower sulphur emission standards, each with some pros and cons..

Let’s look at the cost impact of IMO2020..

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Maersk pilots carbon-netural shipping


Categories Climate Change, IMO, News, Press Release, Vessel Operation Tags , , , , 1 Comment  4 minutes
shipping and freight news

With #IMO2020 fast approaching – 194 days away as of this article – shipping lines, customers and ship owners are working hard on finding ways to be compliant (whether they like it or not)..

This is especially important in the wake of recent comments from IMO’s Frederick Kenney about the possibility of a postponement of the IMO2020 deadline “The chance is really zero. Procedurally, there is no mechanism that would allow the 0.50% regulation, as it stands right now, to change from 1 January 2020.”

There are still some questions over the use of open loop scrubbers which have been identified by the IMO as one of the several methods through which ships can meet lower sulphur emission standards.. Some of the main bunkering ports like Singapore and Fujairah have banned open loop scrubbers in their waters whereas some countries like South Africa have said yes to all types of approved scrubbers..

Then there are also the usage of bio fuels to power ships and shipments..

In what is termed as a first of its kind in the industry, a new carbon neutral product is being piloted by Maersk Line – the world’s largest container shipping line..

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No agreement on minimum speed requirements for ships @ MEPC74


Categories Climate Change, IMO, News, Press Release, Shipping and Freight, Vessel Operation Tags , , , Leave a comment  4 minutes
minimum speed requirements - shipping and freight resource

224 days to go as of this post before #IMO2020 comes into effect.. I wrote recently about an open letter to IMO Member States by NGOs which states that the shipping industry must take appropriate measures to address climate change urgently..

As an initial step, these NGOs expressed their strong support for the IMO’s proposal to regulate ship speeds across various ship type and size categories.. In the letter, the NGOs said their preference would be to set maximum annual average speeds for container ships, and maximum absolute speeds for the remaining ship types, which take account of minimum speed requirements..

Of course, this was not welcomed by all, least of all by container carriers as it would result in them having to increase their fleet size to meet the delivery schedules imposed on them by the trade.. As per the carriers, this would defeat the purpose of trying to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) emissions..

The letter said that this regulation should be implemented as soon as possible and the obligation for compliance should be placed both on shipowners and operators, including charterers and called on all parties at the forthcoming IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC74) to support this move..

Well, #MEPC74 has come and gone but there has been no agreement or deal on any of the proposals put forward to reduce GHG emissions..

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Do you support mandatory regulation of ship speeds..??


Categories Climate Change, Maritime, News, Opinion, Press Release, Shipping Tags , 1 Comment  5 minutes
what is your opinion

As at the time of writing of this article, 244 days is what is left before ships have to comply with #IMO2020 (I actually put up a countdown on my sidebar)..

What IMO2020 is, has been discussed in detail across many articles on this blog, so I won’t repeat in great detail..

An open letter to IMO Member States by NGOs has expressed strong support for the IMO to implement mandatory regulation of global ship speeds differentiated across ship type and size categories..

Industry experts especially in container shipping seem divided on this.. Do you support mandatory regulation of ship speeds..??

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Hapag-Lloyd on track to achieve target of 20% reduction in emissions


Categories Climate Change, IMO, Maritime, News, Press Release Tags , , , 4 Comments  4 minutes
shipping and freight news

Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of approximately 2.6 million TEUs including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers operated on the back of 120 liner services worldwide connecting more than 600 ports on all the continents..

Hapag-Lloyd is also one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades..

As per Hapag-Lloyd, their container shipping makes a significant contribution to a well-functioning global trade and as such bears a special responsibility for the environment, its customers and shareholders, and its employees..

In line with this, they have released their current sustainability report, titled “Gathering Pace Together”, which gives an insight into the broad spectrum of Hapag-Lloyd’s sustainability-related activities, which deals with topics such as combating corruption, employee training and data protection..

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South Africa says yes to all types of approved scrubbers


Categories Climate Change, IMO, Maritime, News, Press Release, Shipping Tags , , , 3 Comments  4 minutes
IMO2020 - shipping and freight resource

In 2016, at the 70th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in London, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) took a landmark decision setting 1st January 2020 as the implementation date for a significant reduction in the sulphur content of the fuel oil used by ships..

As per this decision, MARPOL Annex VI has been revised, lowering the current global limit for sulphur content of marine fuels from 3.50% to 0.50% as from the 1st of January 2020..

IMO advised several methods through which ships can meet lower sulphur emission standards..

As part of the effective implementation of IMO2020 0.50% Sulphur Cap, South African Maritime and Safety Authority (SAMSA) announced that South Africa has approved the use of all types of approved scrubbers..

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Maersk Triple-E vessel to sail on biofuel


Categories IMO, Innovation, Maritime, News, Press Release, Vessel Operation Tags , , , , Leave a comment  5 minutes
vegetable oil powered ship - shipping and freight resource

Maritime transport (sea transport) accounts for around 90% of the global trade.. While the greenhouse gas emissions from shipping is much lower than other modes of transport at around 2.6% of total global emissions, this share could more than triple by 2050 if additional measures are not taken to reduce these emissions..

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been working to reduce the harmful impacts of shipping on the environment since the 1960’s and in 2016 adopted a new regulation commonly termed IMO 2020..

In line with this requirement and in an effort to reach its net zero CO2 target by 2050, Maersk Line will be teaming up with a group known as Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC) consisting of Dutch multinationals – Friesland Campina, Heineken, Philips, DSM, Shell and Unilever (many of them Maersk Line’s customers) on a pilot project to test the use of second-generation biofuels.

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What is IMO 2020 and how you could be affected..


Categories Climate Change, Education, FAQ, IMO, Maritime, News, Press Release, Questions and Answers, Shipping, Trade, Vessel Operation Tags , , , 2 Comments  8 minutes
IMO2020 - shipping and freight resource

If you are in the shipping and freight industry you may have heard several whisperings, notices, loose talk, official talk, speeches etc about IMO 2020..

But what is this IMO 2020, who will be impacted and how will it affect your life in the shipping and freight industry..??

This article examines the impact of IMO 2020 on shipping lines and cargo owners, the options available and how this lower sulphur emission standards can be achieved..

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Pain for shippers as IMO 2020 sulphur cap related bunker surcharges set to kick in


Categories IMO, News, Press Release, Shipping, Trade, Vessel Operation Tags , , , 1 Comment  4 minutes
shipping and freight news - shipping and freight resource

The regulations surrounding the IMO 2020 sulphur cap are here to stay..

Several shipping lines like Maersk, MSC, CMA-CGM, ONE, OOCL and APL had announced in late 2018 that these costs for compliance will have to be passed on to customers/trade through the implementation of new or adjustment to existing fuel surcharges, which may vary based on the trade lanes..

These new bunker surcharges are set to kick in as of this week..

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