Appeal of the shipowners in order to ask for possible risks deriving from the introduction of the limits to the sulfur tenor in the bunker



In sight of the reunion of the next month of the council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), than one will hold to London in the second week of July, the world-wide shipowners - through the voice of international organizations BIMCO, ICS, Intercargo, Intertanko and WSC - have invited the Member States of international the marine organization to ahead complete steps relatively to the introduction of the limit of the sulfur tenor in the fuel of the ships that will be put into effect on January 1°, 2020 with the effectiveness of the amendments to annexed YOU of the international convention Marpol for the prevention of the pollution caused from the ships, progresses - they have specified the five associations of the marine industry - useful to ask for that the implementation of the new norms can finish to a compromissione of safety or the unjust penalization of single ships.

The shipowning associations have evidenced that if in 2015 for the ships employed in the Areas of Control of Emissions (ECA) it has been to pass to the consistent fuel use to marine use to the norm ISO 8217, in 2020 instead, besides I use it of distilled fuel in order to respect the sulfur limit of 0.5%, many ships will have to use producing which blended and new fuel oil that they do not re-enter in the standard ISO 8217. Besides the absence of total standards for many of new fuels which blended promised from the oil refineries - they have emphasized BIMCO, ICS, Intercargo, Intertanko and WSC - there are potentially serious problems of safety, comprised those relative ones to the use of consistent bunkers but incompatible, problems deriving from I use it of bunkers that turned out incompatible - they have explained the associations - that they could for example involve a loss of power of the system of propulsion of the ship.

Moreover, referring to the fact that they give the legal point of view not will be some period of transition after on January 1°, 2020 useful to do so as that the marine industry can be adapted more easily to the new norms, BIMCO, ICS, Intercargo, Intertanko and WSC have found that carrying out of this capacity "never is not tried previously world-wise". "The industry - they have assured the associations of the shipping - will go to any length for being totally consistent in so far as this is under its control, but a sure implementation and of success will demand the fuel supply, in the ports of all the world, that they are compatible and consistent to the law".

The shipowning associations, as already evidenced previously, have restated that, date the entity of the technical challenges connected with the introduction of the new norms and date the probability of happening of problems in the starting phase of their implementation, "will be important that the authorities of Port Are been Control adopt a pragmatic and realistic approach in enforcing the conformity during the first months of this total change, that will take effect to striking of midnight between single 18 months".