Sulphur compliance alliance announced

The Trident Alliance is a new shipping industry initiative for robust enforcement of maritime sulphur regulations, set in motion by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), with the aim to form a coalition of owners and operators willing to collaborate to bring this about. A first meeting was held in Copenhagen on 28 May.

“If the regulations are robustly implemented then compliance is the norm and competition is not distorted. However, when enforcement is weak a temptation is created to cut corners on compliance. The result is that regulations will not have the intended effect of protecting the environment and human health. Also, responsible shipping companies are put at a disadvantage relative to those who are intentionally non-compliant,” said WWL.

There have been calls from shipping companies, in particular in Scandinavia, to step up enforcement of sulphur regulations in 2015 to deter cheats. According to WWL, European compliance testing for ship fuel sulphur content is currently in the range of 1 out of 250 to 1 out of 1000 vessels, or around 0.2 per cent, and of those tested, about half are found to be in violation.

WWL and Maersk are so far the only names, part of the environmental alliance, that have been made public, however, carriers from Sweden, Germany, Japan, and South Korea are said to be participating.

Kirsten Brosbol, Danish Minister for the Environment, said she believes the alliance could make a difference: “I absolutely believe that this will make a difference, when several major carriers join forces to call for increased control of shipping in national and international waters. Denmark is already working toward making all countries perform controls to ensure that shipping complies with the new sulphur regulation, so this is certainly going to benefit us.”

Sources: Sustainable Shipping News 14 May and 30 May and WWL news release 9 May 2014.

Link: www.2wglobal.com

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Main menu

Sulphur compliance alliance announced

In this issue

150 ways to cut GHG emissions

Editorial: 1.5°C target can be reached

Profitable to cut air pollution

IMO weakens NOx rules for ships

A changing climate creates pervasive risks

Persistent problems in meeting NOx limits

Hidden costs make coal expensive

Diet shifts could reduce nitrogen pollution

Rise in agricultural emissions

SCR can cut ship NOx emissions

Air pollution the world’s largest environmental health risk

Urban air quality getting worse

Harmful ozone levels over Europe

Diesel cars not as green as perceived

Europe’s biggest polluters

Publications

SINK OR SOURCE? Northern Forests at a crossroads

The role of northern forests in limiting warming to 1.5°C

Protecting Northern Forests crucial for biodiversity, the climate and indigenous rights

The 100 largest industry emitters in EU-27

Road to Nowhere

Bioenergy CCS – too little, too expensive, and not net negative

Direct air carbon capture and storage - A waste of time and energy

Carbon emissions from the cement industry can be reduced without CCS

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