Written by: Aakriti Vasudeva
2 min readMay 15, 2012 01:58 AM IST
First published on: May 15, 2012 at 01:58 AM IST
A proposal to reduce sulphur content in marine fuel in Indian waters is being opposed by shipowners who fear it will push up operational costs. They raised the matter on Monday at a meeting with the Directorate-General of Shipping (DGS).
The revised MARPOL (Marine Pollution) Annexure VI rules,approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) ask for limiting sulphur content of ship fuel from 4.5 per cent earlier to 3.5 percent to cut emission of toxic oxides of sulphur from ships,to reduce air pollution.
These rules came into effect on January 1 this year and apply globally to all nations that have ratified the MARPOL,including India.
“This rule is followed by Indian ships when they are in foreign waters but is not mandatory for Indian ships in Indian waters,” said DGS official Amitava Banerjee.
Monday’s meeting,which had officials of the MoEF and shipowners present,was to chalk out a roadmap to decide what will be the sulphur content of fuels used by Indian ships in Indian waters.
“The IMO had in January come out with certain restrictions with respect to sulphur content in ship fuel. However,Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA) and Indian Coastal Conference Shipping Association feel that imposing the same norms on them is harsh. Prima facie we feel no need for two different yardsticks for foreign and Indian ships and feel that sulphur content needs to be reduced. But we will consider with an open mind the plea of shipowners who feel this will put them under financial pressure,” said Director General,Shipping,Satish Agnihotri.
Shipowners contend that reducing sulphur content will have a cost implication as cheaper fuel means higher sulphur content.
Shipowners also feel that it needs to be determined if the amount of SOx (oxides of sulphur) emission from Indian ships is signficant enough to warrant a reduction.
“We will convene a meeting with experts to take their views on conducting a study on the extent of SO2 (sulphur dioxide) emmissions from Indian ships along the Indian coast. There will be representation from both INSA and the Indian Coastal Conference Shipping Association in the matter,” said Banerjee.
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