HELCOM backs steep reduction of sulfur emissions from ships

Helsinki, 8 February (HELCOM Information Service) – The HELCOM Member States will back proposals for steep reductions of sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions from ships at the meeting of the world’s top maritime body next month, citing the results of the stringent emission regulations in the Baltic Sea area. HELCOM announced today that the coastal countries have submitted a joint document to the U.N. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) providing information on the implementation of the regulations in the special Baltic Sea SOx Emission Control Area (SECA) as an input to the current discussion on further reduction of sulfur oxide emissions from ships.

In this submission, HELCOM points out that the successful implementation of the world’s strictest regulations limiting the sulfur content of bunker fuel in a busy shipping area like the Baltic Sea indicates that even more ambitious aims are achievable regionally as well as globally within the next years to further reduce SOx emissions from ships.

The 57th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee, which will be held on 31 March - 4 April, is expected to approve new requirements for sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions under Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78).

Currently, Annex VI of the Convention includes a global cap of 4.5% on the sulfur content of fuel oil, and contains provisions allowing for special "SOx Emission Control Areas" (SECA) to be established with more stringent control on sulfur emissions. In these areas, the sulfur content of fuel oil used onboard ships must not exceed 1.5%. Alternatively, ships must fit an exhaust gas cleaning system or use other methods to limit SOx emissions. The Baltic Sea was the first to establish SECA on 19 May 2006, followed by the North Sea a year and half later.

According to a study done for HELCOM by the research group ShipNODeff, with the current SECA cap of 1.5% on sulfur content of fuel oil allowed to use onboard ships in the Baltic Sea the total annual SOx is estimated at around 148,000 – 167,000 tonnes. Without the SECA restrictions, if a global average of 2.6 % of fuel sulfur content is used, the annual SOx production would increase to 290,000 tonnes, and with the current IMO maximum allowed global limit of 4.5 % would increase to a total of 502,000 tonnes per year.

Not all ships in the Baltic Sea follow the SECA restrictions. In 2006, as many as 1,879 ships were inspected in the Baltic Sea ports for compliance with the fuel oil requirements. Only in 28 cases non-compliance with the requirements were detected, which is 1.5% of all the ships inspected. This clearly indicates the successful implementation of the relevant requirements in the Baltic Sea SECA.  But more importantly, some ships have now started to use fuel that has significantly less sulfur (0.5 % and even less) than what is required. For example, passenger ferries between Finland and Sweden voluntarily use fuel with lower sulfur content.

“The experience gained with the implementation and enforcement of relevant regulations in the HELCOM area has been mostly positive,” says Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary. “The information gathered to assess the enforcement of the regulation shows that the countries did not face any major difficulties in implementing Annex VI to MARPOL 73/78 as far as fuel oil quality was concerned.”

Decreasing ship-borne SOx emissions is one of the objectives of the strategic Baltic Sea Action Plan which was adopted last year by the HELCOM Members to restore the health of the Baltic marine environment by 2021. Particularly, the HELCOM Members agreed to support efforts within IMO under the ongoing review process of Annex VI of MARPOL 73/78 “to tighten sulfur content in fuel oil at the global level”. One of the options favored by most of the HELCOM countries is a switch to cleaner fuels (distillate fuels) and a single and lowered sulfur cap.

SOx emissions from shipping due to the combustion of marine fuels with high sulfur content contribute to air pollution in the form of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, causing considerable harm to the human health and to the environment. Sulfur oxide is a heavy colorless residue. It produces acid rain, contributes to global warming, causes respiratory complications, and other adverse effects. Coastal areas and the vicinity of ports are particularly affected by pollution from ships with high sulfur content fuels.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, more usually known as the Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU which works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution. 

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," known as the Helsinki Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Monika Stankiewicz

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 643

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi