EU is in the process of amending its Sulphur Directive. The European Commission has presented its proposed amendments and these have to be considered and finally adopted by the EU Parliament. These proposed amendments were scrutinised by the EU Parliament Environmental (ENVI) Committee which this week presented its recommendations. The ENVI recommendations bring some good and some bad news.

The bad news concerns additional suggested provisions above and beyond MARPOL Annex VI. It is suggested that, as from 2015, ships in all EU waters (i.e. territorial seas, pollution control zones and EEZ) should use fuels with a maximum sulphur content of 0.50% and, as from 2020, use fuels with a maximum sulphur content of 0.10%. If this suggestion is to be accepted in the final revision of the EU Sulphur Directive, ships trading to and from European ports will have to perform multiple fuel switching.

The positive recommendations firstly safeguard against non-availability of fuel (a fuel availability clause in case of non-availability of compliant fuel is included mirroring Regulation 18 of MARPOL Annex VI), and secondly provide for more regular fuel sampling at the time of delivery to the vessel (sampling should be done on the fuel "being supplied" to vessels, "in sufficient quantities" and "periodically").

Source : INTERTANKO