In implementing the directive on the sulfur tenor - the ECSA emphasizes - the Commission and the States EU must be severe, but also realistic



In occasion of the today's expiration for the recepimento in the norm of the States of the EU of European directive 2012/33 on the sulfur tenor of fuel to marine use, that it previews among other things that in territorial waters, in the Exclusive Economic Zones and the zones of control of the pollution they are not used combustible with sulfur tenor with advanced mass to 3.50% beginning from on and to 0.50% beginning from on January 1°, 2020 (and 0.10% beginning from on January 1°, 2015 in the waters that re-enter in the areas of control of the emissions of SOx), the association of the European shipowners have published an open letter asking a performance for "the just, realistic and harmonized" directive.

Finding that new relative requirement to the sulfur tenor impose exactly that the ships that navigate in areas SECA (Sulphur Emission Control Areas), as the English Channel, the Sea of the North and the Baltic Sea, use fuel with a maximum sulfur tenor of 0.10% or that the same level of emissions is reached with the use of alternative fuels or technologies of discouragement, the European Community Shipowners' Associations (DECOY) has evidenced that the field of the marine transport must however tackle to a series of legal and technical uncertainties that the EU commission and the Member States must face with urgency if they have the intention of help the shipowners to prepare itself upon maturity on January 1°, 2015.

The ECSA has explained that on the whole the shipowners have carried out in good faith investments in order to respect such expiration, but they are found however to having to face uncertainties and problems and would have to be able to count on rigorously limited transitory exceptions very defined and. "The Member States and the Commission - it has emphasized the general secretary of the shipowning association, Patrick Verhoeven - must clarify without delay as they intend to apply and to harmonize the implementation policies. This but cannot go to damage of the competitiveness. It is therefore imperative to meanwhile establish legal certainties on the correct observance and execution and a parity of conditions between the operators of the shipping and the several modalities of transport".

"The European shipowners - it has concluded Verhoeven - are engaged to totally respect requirement of the directive on the tenor of sulfur and the correspondents norms of attached YOU of the MARPOL. During this challenging period of change for the shipowners we ask that the rules in order to guarantee the application of the directive EU on sulfur are put in existence in pragmatic way. The Commission and the Member States must be severe, but they must also be realistic".