A Brief History

The shipping industry is responsible for a significant percentage of the air pollution worldwide. International shipping accounts for approximately 13% of the global nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions respectively. The first measures put in place to control air pollution were set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in May 2015 to reduce SOx and NOx

How Will the Industry Acclimatise Post-IMO 2020 and What’s Next?

The IMO 2020 sulphur cap is set to be enforced on January 1st, which will decrease the global sulphur cap from 3.5% to 0.5%. However, this is not the only upcoming regulation we will see imposed in the near future to support worldwide sustainable efforts. Aside from the operational, technical and environmental considerations here, successfully implementing new regulations are subject to global compliance of the ships, which can be ensured by flag state and port state controls on a global scale.

In addition to the effect shipping ventures have on climate change; shipping-based emissions such as particulate matter (PM), NOx, SOx, and unburned hydrocarbons can lessen the ozone layer, produce acid rain and GHG effects. The majority of ships tend to spend only about 20% of their time at open sea. In other words, 80% of shipping activity is within the port limit or near a coast.

Taking into account 15-20 years life span of ships, it is clear that 2050 targets for the shipping industry will not be realistic if the carbon-neutral fuel transition does not take place now!

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