EU – Officer of the Watch

Europe Remains Global Fleet’s Flagship

April 3, 2014 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

“Although shipping has seldom been in the limelight, it never ceased to play a substantial role in Europe’s economy” commented Patrick Verhoeven, ECSA Secretary General on today’s release of the Oxford Economics study on the economic value of the EU shipping industry. He added: “The EU shipping industry continues to stay its ground in these hard times against fierce competition from third country shipping centres, particularly those in Asia and the Middle East. It remains today a world leader and an important source of revenue and jobs in Europe.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: Commercial, ECSA, EU, finance, shipping

New EU environmental Impact Assessment Rules

March 13, 2014 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

Yesterday the European Parliament vote on new environmental impact assessment rules of oil and conventional gas exploration, while at the same time rules for shale gas were excluded.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: environment, EU, hydrocarbons, offshore

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: AIS, bunker delivery note, CO2, Emissions, EU, fuel consumption, MRV, NOx, oil record book, SOx, Technical

EU Snoops Into Greek Shipping Tax System

October 5, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

According to Greek press as German shippers are loosing market share, a driven request of the European Commission is meddling with the Greek shipping tax system. The European Commission asked Greece to clarify the workings of the tax system for its key shipping industry which is run by some of the wealthiest people in the bailed-out country. “The commission is currently looking at the tonnage tax and has asked for details from Greece,” the office of European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. Greece has until October 30 to reply.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: OOW FOCUS Tagged With: Commercial, economic crisis, EU, European Commission, shipping tax system

EU and IMO on Maritime Emissions

September 23, 2012 by Officer of the Watch Leave a Comment

EU and IMO differences for maritime emissions came to surface on a relevant conference hosted by the European Policy Centre and supported by the Mission of Norway to the European Union. Definite rules on emissions regulations might have not been discussed in depth, but what has been clearly understood from the different opinions that have been expressed is that EU and IMO are not in convergence regarding ship emissions although they both aim at the same target, that is to reduce emissions produced by the maritime industry.