bunker delivery note – Officer of the Watch

GHG Emissions from Ships and The MRV Proposal

November 12, 2013 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

Shipping is the only sector without an EU cap on emissions. In 2009, the EU committed to include shipping in its climate policy but instead the Commission proposed last year only to monitor CO2 emissions. While the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) proposal is a step in the right direction, it lacks ambition and will have little impact if left unchanged. It can be strengthened to create a MRV system that may not only be used for CO2, but also for SOx and NOx – harmful air pollutants. To actually reduce emissions, unreliable monitoring methods should be removed, and data transparency should be ensured. Finally, there should be a path for transition of MRV requirements into real emissions-reduction measures.

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Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: bunker delivery note, CO2, emission monitoring, fuel flow meters, HSSQE, MRV, NOx, Ship emissions, SOx

Monitoring of Bunker Fuel Consumption

July 2, 2013 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

Monitoring of fuel consumption and GHG emissions from international shipping is currently under discussion at the EU level as well as at the IMO. There are several approaches to monitoring, each with different characteristics. Important differences exist with regards to the costs of the equipment, operational costs, the accuracy of the measurements, and the potential to monitor emissions of gases other than CO2. Moreover, some approaches offer more opportunities to improve the operational fuel-efficiency of ships and fit better to possible future policies than others.

North American ECA Related Deficiencies

January 29, 2013 by Stavros Kairis Leave a Comment

Last August the North America ECA low sulphur requirements came into force and as a result the sulfur content of the fuel oil used onboard ships operating in this area may not exceed 1.00% m/m (10,000 ppm). This new requirement comes to add further restrictions on the fuels’ sulphur levels and gives the PSCO the ability to examine either the vessel’s SMS or its equipment or relevant records on whether or not they are in line with ECA regulations.

Practical Options for Ship Emissions Monitoring

January 8, 2013 by Officer of the Watch 2 Comments

The EU has been on record for several years that it would take regional action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, if no global agreement had been reached at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by the end of 2011. On 1 October 2012, European Commissioners Hedegaard and Kallas announced that the Commission would propose monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of emissions as a starting point towards a more comprehensive system to reduce emissions. Although a significant number of ship-owners are already voluntarily monitoring the efficiency of their fleet, there is currently no legal requirement in Europe for ship-owners to keep track of their vessels’ direct fuel consumption and communicate this data to port state authorities. The precise requirements to be contained in the EU MRV scheme are not yet known. The legislative proposal is not expected before the first quarter of 2013. This paper by Transport & Environment NGO highlights some important aspects to be taken into account when developing a reliable emissions monitoring system and it investigates different options.