IMO NA Group News June/July 2008

Since last newsletter (April 2008) RINA has attended the following IMO Committee meetings:

MEPC 57 (31 March - 04 April)

The discussions of the following items were attended by the delegates of the NGO RINA:

Item 3 "Recycling of Ships"

The text of the draft International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of ships was further developed by the third intersessional ship recycling working group.

No asbestos on board new ships and installations
All exemptions have been removed.

Reporting on materials
It is mandatory to report on all the materials described in the "Minimum list of items for the inventory of hazardous materials" for new ships and new installations.

Proposal to include three new substances
It was proposed to include PFOS, HBCDD and Trichlorobenzene within the list of hazardous materials.

Item 4 "Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships"

The outstanding achievement of the MEPC 57 meeting was agreement on the control of NO_x and SO_x emissions.

NOx
Vessels less than 24 metres in length and with engine propulsive power of less than 750kW are in general to be exempted from the NOx requirements. For other vessels, separate emissions limits are set depending on the year they were built

SOx
Agreement was also achieved on significant reductions in SOx emissions. There will be a global cap of 3.5% on sulphur content of bunkers after 1/1/2012, reducing to 0.5% after 1/1/2020.

However, the bunker supply industry expressed concerns that they might not be able to supply sufficient quantities of low sulphur fuel (essentially distillate) by 2020. Exhaust treatment is still a permissible alternative, subject to stringent controls.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Some progress was made towards the development of regulations to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, principally CO2. There is a range of proposals under consideration, from the calculation of a CO2 design index, to a levy (tax) on bunker fuel, reducing ship speeds or making more use of alternative propulsion systems.

The discussions included a review of the report of the correspondence group (MEPC 57/4/5) and development of the terms of reference for the inter-sessional working group to be held from the 23rd to the 27th June 2008 in Oslo. A RINA delegation will join this meeting.

Papers related to this meeting are placed on the RINA website, click here to view

MSC 84 (07 - 16 May)

The discussions of the following items were attended by the delegates of the NGO RINA:

Item 5: Goal Based New Ship construction Standards

Item 13: General Cargo Ship Safety