Two leading flag states, along with several shipowner associations, are seeking tougher quality controls on bunker suppliers to reduce breakdowns and casualties linked to poor fuel quality.
Liberia and the Marshall Islands are sponsoring a paper calling for the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to come up with worldwide quality guidelines as the basis to draw up a register of approved bunker suppliers.
The move comes in response to further evidence of mechanical breakdown as a result of increased catalytic fines and even chemical additives found in low-sulphur fuels.
Increased catalytic fines are being linked to the production of low-sulphur fuels required under Marpol Annex VI.
Shipowners have been complaining that many suppliers are not reducing catalytic fines content to the levels specified in international regulations or introducing additives that can also lead to mechanical problems.
Under Annex VI, there is a requirement that fuel delivered to a ship should meet certain quality standards. Both Liberia and the Marshall Islands argue in the IMO paper that the responsibility over quality should not rest entirely with shipowners and “there should be no doubt that ships alone cannot be the responsible party for enforcing these provisions”.
Instead, the sponsors suggest that national authorities should take on a role in ensuring suppliers are of the correct standard.
“The control and enforcement of supply of compliant fuel as required by Marpol Annex VI can only be exercised by the appropriate authorities under whose jurisdiction the supply takes place,” the paper argued. “Considering the maritime administrations are concerned about crew health, safety at sea and environmental protection of ships and ports, it is expected that they would co-operate on how the risks related to non-compliant bunker deliveries can be minimised.”
Some national authorities, most notably Singapore, have already put in place quality-control measures.
Both the Marshall Islands and Liberia suggest that such guidelines may provide a basis for the international regulations.
The recommendation is that national administrations would then supply the IMO with a list of approved bunker suppliers based on those meeting the international criteria.
The Marshall Islands and Liberia want the additional requirements to be written into the Marpol convention.
It would be up to the national administrations to take actions against approved suppliers found to have sold non-compliant bunker fuel.
The move has the backing of several shipowner bodies, including the International Chamber of Shipping, Bimco, Intertanko, the Cruise Lines International Association, Intercargo and the International Parcel Tankers Association.
The paper is to be presented to the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting later this month.
The MEPC is also expected to approve a new report into world shipping emissions. It shows total shipping greenhouse-gas emissions accounted for just 2.5% of global emissions in 2012 and an annual average of 2.8% between 2007 and 2012.
