Today, 1st January 2020, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), will officially begin the enforcement of its plans to lower the sulphur content in bunker fuel from the current limit of 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent.
By so doing, IMO will reduce the emission of sulphur oxide into the atmosphere from various kinds of ships involved in international voyages, voyage between two or more countries; or domestic voyages.
Precisely, the marine environment is shared among a lot of industries including oil and gas industry, seaborne transportation, and fisheries. However, it is essential to achieve sustainable shipping to ensure that the environment is protected while providing the goods and services for human consumption.
According to IMO, the limit for sulphur in fuel oil used on board ships operating outside designated emission control areas will be reduced to 0.50 percent mass by mass.
This will significantly reduce the amount of sulphur oxides emanating from ships and should have major health and environmental benefits for the world, particularly for populations living close to ports and coasts.
A study on the human health impacts of Sulphur emissions from ships, submitted to IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in 2016 by Finland, estimated that by not reducing the Sulphur limit for ships from 2020, the air pollution from ships would contribute to more than 570,000 additional premature deaths worldwide between 2020-2025.
Simply put, limiting sulphur oxides emissions from ships reduces air pollution and results in a cleaner environment. It also reduces particulate matter, tiny harmful particles that form when fuel is burnt.
Though, ships transport large quantities of vital goods across the world’s oceans – and seaborne trade, it also does emit pollutants and other harmful emissions.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), ships carried more than 10 billion tons of trade for the first time in 2016. Meaning that ships have always been the most sustainable way to transport commodities and goods, and increasingly, it becomes even more energy efficient.
Therefore, IMO regulations on energy efficiency support the demand for greener and cleaner shipping. A ship which is more energy efficient burns less fuel and emits less air pollutant.
Statistics shows that ships are the largest machines on the planet and the world’s largest diesel engines can be found on cargo ships. These engines can be as tall as a four-storey house.
For instance, the largest marine diesel engines have more than 100,000 horsepower (in comparison, a mid-sized car may have up to 300 horsepower). But the largest container ships can carry more than 20,000 containers and the biggest bulk carriers can carry more than 300,000 tons of commodities, like iron ore.
This was why powerful engines are needed to propel a ship through the sea and it is important to consider how much energy is used to carry each ton of cargo per kilometre.
However, when you look at the relative energy efficiency of different modes of transport, ships are by far the most energy efficient. Ships can reduce air pollutants by being even more energy efficient, so they burn less fuel and therefore their emissions are lower.
Giving insight into Nigeria’s plans to meet the Sulphur Cap Regulation, Dakuku Peterside, director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), in an interview with NestOil News, said the regulatory aspect of protecting the marine environment is the core responsibility of NIMASA.
“Part of that responsibility is derived from the international rules and regulations in which Nigeria signed unto. One of such is the IMO target to reduce maximum of 0.5 percent sulphur content in fuel used by vessels that trade on all oceans and international sea route,” he said.
According to him, because Nigeria is a party to that agreement, NIMASA has put a strategic plan in place to achieve compliance by the year 2020 and it will be in five phases.
First, Peterside stated, would be to raise awareness among ship owners, educating them on the existence of this limit of 0.5 percent sulphur content in the fuel use for vessels.
“Secondly, would be to also raise awareness among refineries for them to produce fuel or bunker with maximum 0.5 percent sulphur content by the year 2020,” he said.
Peterside noted that the third step was to notify everybody of the enforcement to the regulation in order to ensure that Nigerian shipping industry measures the quality of fuel used and the sulphur content in order to ensure compliance.
“Fourth was to put up a regime of punishment and deterrent for those who do not comply. Finally, was to embark on aggressive education, enforcement to ensure compliance. So, that was the plan but in the interim, we have taken quite a number of steps among which was running a trial test on a number of vessels,” he stated.
He further stated that NIMASA has installed instruments in vessels that can measure the type of fuel and quality of sulphur content and emission on them.
“In addition, we have created awareness about sulphur cap limit by the year 2020. We are rolling out a national campaign to ensure that all our people comply and compliance will be in two phases starting from international vessels to local or Cabotage vessels,” he noted.
Peterside however disclosed that NIMASA has also started engaging with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as well as those who refine bunker or fuel to ensure they produce fuel that comply with the international regulation.
“On the whole, we are set for the compliance limit by 2020 and we are working tirelessly towards full compliance by Nigerians as the leading maritime administration, and because we know the negative consequences on the environment,” he added.
