BIMCO Hails Carriage Ban

Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has been a proponent for a carriage ban of non-compliant fuel (unless the ship has a scrubber) and is pleased to see it adopted with a start date of 1 March 2020, said a release from the international shipping association.

“A carriage ban on non-compliant fuel is critical in order for the member states to be able to enforce the sulphur regulation,” Lars Robert Pedersen, BIMCO Deputy Secretary General.

Two key developments were the adoption of the ban from 1 March 2020 on carriage of non-compliant fuel and the compromise reached on collecting data from the world fleet on fuel oil non-availability and quality without any delay in the implementation of the 2020 sulphur rules.

“We are overall very satisfied with the outcome of MEPC 73. The industry retains a fixed implementation date, which is important, while we at the same time address the safety concerns,” said Pedersen.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) asked for proposals to establish necessary additions to the Global Integrated Shipping Information system (GISIS) to incorporate data from the experience ships gain on fuel oil availability and fuel quality.

“In BIMCO we will work diligently to craft proposals that will enable the shipping industry to harvest experience to reduce the risk of safety issues,” Pedersen said.

Work is already underway amongst interested parties who met during the MEPC meeting to sketch out the necessary elements that need to be addressed in a new proposal to IMO.