Hot Air Becomes Reality

On May 19 2005 the first wave of requirements under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI - environmental regulations imposing global and regional limits on air emissions from ships - came into force. The new legislation will affect the following elements:

• the way shipowners and operators operate their vessels;
• the type of fuel that oil bunker suppliers are allowed to supply;
• sampling procedures; and
• the way ship engine manufacturers will design and build engines.

As of May 19 2005 there is a global limit of 4.5% on the maximum amount of sulphur in the fuel that vessels are allowed to burn. Achieving this limit will not be problematic for shipowners or bunker fuel suppliers, as it is quite a generous limit. The global average for sulphur content in fuel is currently around 3%.