comment Paul Gunton A
Which way is the wind blowing?
s this issue goes to press, IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has just finished its 66th session, during which it addressed an impressive range of topics – from ship recycling to the impact of underwater noise on marine life. But most eyes – certainly among Marine Propulsion readers – were on two topics: ballast water treatment and emissions.
Ballast water management presented the bigger surprise of the two. After the IMO Assembly had agreed in November to a proposal from last May’s MEPC meeting of a revised timetable that flag states could adopt, it was thought that this would be enough to persuade more of them to ratify the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC). There was even talk before the meeting that a number of states – principally in Asia – were planning to ratify it simultaneously, thus bringing it up to the gross tonnage target without any single state being seen as the one that took it across the line.
In the event, no new signatories emerged and the total tonnage remains at 30.38 per cent of the global fleet – 4.62 per cent short. This is not good news for the environment, as alien species continue to be carried around the globe, largely unimpeded. Nor is it good news for BWTS manufacturers. There can be few industry sectors that offer a choice of 70 systems and this cannot be viable, even when the convention is in force and shipowners rush to fit them. Many manufacturers had hung their hats on the expectation that the BWMC would come into force in the near future, so the indecision shown by MEPC 66 may begin a shake-out in the ballast water treatment sector.
While some were focused on what comes into the bottom of a ship, others were worried about what comes out of the top. They, at least, had a little more to cheer about. Many had expected that last year’s surprise proposal from
Russia to delay introduction of the Tier III NOx levels to 2021 would be confirmed, but it seems that some serious behind- the-scenes lobbying had gone on in the interim. The outcome is a complicated compromise, which is explained in detail in this issue’s feature about SOx and NOx control. The new timetable that was adopted as an amendment
to Marpol Annex VI does include the 2021 construction deadline, but only for vessels of less than 500gt, of 24m or over in length, which have been specifically designed, and are only used, for recreational purposes: in other words, superyachts – a decision that will surely be welcomed in a number of dachas. The compromise appears to have been worked out during
MEPC itself and I share the concern of some representatives at the meeting that this was a bit hasty. It is often said that IMO moves too slowly but that does not mean that moving fast is always the better option. Besides, what is IMO, apart from the sum of its members? If they believe it moves too slowly, it is in their hands to speed things up by, for example, ratifying and bringing into force conventions that clearly benefit the global marine environment. The BWMC springs to mind. One region that will be pleased that the 2021-based timetable has been downgraded is the EU. While not having a seat at IMO, EU members often coordinate their views in IMO debates and there was talk ahead of MEPC that a number of EU members would pull together to vote down the Russian proposal. In the event, I understand that some key states would not play ball; they did not have to. But EU bureaucrats – like their counterparts in the USA – have a significant role in global shipping policy. One organisation that recognises this is the European Community Shipowners Associations (ECSA) which hosted a lunch in the European Parliament in early April, bringing together industry leaders such as Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS, David Dingle, CEO of Carnival UK and Philippe Louis Dreyfus, president of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, with European Commission officials, including its vice-president Siim Kallas.
he summary that ECSA has published does not suggest that either side made much progress. The shipowners put forward commercial arguments – implementing the European SECA is an “own goal” by regulators, said Mr Smedegaard, as its effects will force companies to close financially struggling shipping routes. Mr Kallas’s response was mostly environmental, saying that it would be to the benefit of the EU and shipowners alike to find a global solution for the reduction of CO2 emissions, although he did assure his hosts that “we want EU shipping to prosper so that it can serve a flexible and dynamic European economy.” And that is the dilemma: the arguments for such things as ballast water treatment and emissions control are environmental. They are necessary, but solutions do not come cheap. The arguments against are commercial: they will cost the industry millions for no financial gain. We should take a long-term perspective: it is inevitable that these measures will come into effect and that there will be a price to pay – not just by shipping companies, but by society as those costs are absorbed into the market. Let’s get on with it. MP
T
www.mpropulsion.com
Marine Propulsion I April/May 2014 I 5
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