REGULATION news
reduction by 2040, compared to 2008 levels, ultimately aiming for net-zero emissions by around 2050.
“The number and complexity of the regulatory updates that are taking place is challenging to understand. The recent agreement to a Net Zero Framework to reduce the GHG intensity of shipping, and the consequential measures to enable that to happen safely, are historically among the biggest regulatory disrupters to shipping’s business model,” said Mark Towl, Principal Regulatory Risk Specialist, Lloyd’s Register.
Environmental regulations A number of guidelines will be required to be drafted and the 2024 Guidelines on life cycle GHG intensity of marine fuels, effective from 2025, requiring further development to include fuel pathways and default emissions factors for use in calculating a ship’s greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI) and total emissions.
Environmental regulations also extend to specific geographic areas. The Mediterranean Sea became a Sulphur Oxides (SOx) Emission Control Area (ECA) from 1 May 2025, with a strict limit on the sulphur content in fuel of 0.10%, requiring ships trading in the Mediterranean Sea to either use compliant fuels or abatement technology as an equivalent means of compliance.
Similarly, the Canadian Arctic will see phased-in NOx and SOx controls, with NOx Tier III standards for newbuilds contracted from 2026 that are to be operated in the NOx ECA and a limit on the sulphur content of the fuel of 0.10% for all ships operating in the SOx ECA from March 2027.
Furthermore, the Hong Kong Convention on Ship Recycling took effect from 26 June 2025. New ships and ships bound for recycling facilities must carry an approved Inventory of Hazardous Materials and be dismantled only at approved recycling facilities following a final survey and with a ship recycling plan in place. Existing vessels over 500GT on international voyages must have an approved Inventory of Hazardous Materials onboard by mid-2030.
Safety regulations
Numerous safety-related regulations are also being updated. From 1 January 2026, amendments to the LSA Code will limit the maximum lowering speed of a fully loaded survival craft and has a minimum lowering speed for high sided ships (>30m).
Also entering force in January 2026 are amendments to SOLAS Chapter II-2/7.5.5 concerning fire protection, which extend the fire protection requirements applied to accommodation, service spaces, and some control stations to all control stations and cargo control rooms on new cargo ships.
Emerging technologies and operational challenges are also addressed. The IMO is continuing to develop a mandatory Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) Code, currently anticipated to enter force in 2032, establishing a framework for the safe deployment of autonomous cargo vessels.
A significant revision of SOLAS Chapter III and the LSA Code is also planned, predicted to enter force on 1 January 2032, aiming to restructure requirements and address gaps.
Seafarer welfare
Seafarer welfare and training receives renewed focus. Amendments to the STCW Code on the prevention of sexual assault and harassment enter force on 1 January 2026, requiring specific training for seafarers. Work continues on a comprehensive review of the STCW Convention expected to be completed in the early 2030s.
Newly agreed amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention are aimed at continuing to improve seafarers’ welfare, in particular their repatriation and leave ashore while in port.
“Compliance will involve revising operational procedures, upgrading equipment, ensuring crews’ training is updated, and planning for future technologies that contribute to a safer and more sustainable future for shipping,” said Mark Towl.
Download the full report at
https://bit.ly/4k4GCOo.
THE REPORT | SEP 2025 | ISSUE 113 | 49
The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships entered into force in June 2025
The Hong Kong Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risk to human health and safety or to the environment.
The Hong Kong Convention was adopted at a Diplomatic Conference held in Hong Kong, China, in May 2009 and was developed with input from IMO Member States and non governmental organizations, and in co-operation with the International Labour Organization and the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. It intends to address all the issues around ship recycling, including the fact that ships sold for scrapping may contain environmentally hazardous substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, ozone depleting substances and others. It will address concerns about working and environmental conditions in many of the world's ship recycling facilities.
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