INSURANCE, LEGAL & FINANCE

IMO head praises ‘green shipping’ progress

15 years ago

Koji Sekimizu, the new Secretary-General of IMO, spoke of the progress made by shipping towards greater sustainability in an interview he gave to Hamburg Fair in the run-up to the 25th SMM in September.

Mr Sekimizu, who has been in office for just under two months now, said, I am more than happy to talk about what activities the regulator of the international shipping industry has taken, as IMO has a very good story to tell in this respect.”

He referred to the mandatory measures adopted by IMO in this context in the past year and added that, as soon as they have entered into force in 2013, they would require a progressive improvement in vessel efficiency and a consequent reduction in CO₂ emissions. But he underlined the fact that it was left to industry to determine exactly how the defined targets are to be met. “It will be interesting to see which technologies find favour”, he said.

Mr. Sekimizu explained that, in parallel to the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships, IMO had also adopted the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), which is mandatory for all ships of the existing fleet. “The SEEMP will give the industry an additional incentive to monitor and improve the energy performance of ships.” IMO was also working to develop and refine market-based measures that would provide a financial incentive to improve efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.

IMO leaves it up to the shipowners which solutions to use for reduction of sulphur emissions, e.g. in port, for example, use of cleaner, low-sulphur fuels, or installation of suitable filter technologies. What matters is that they should meet the specified standards as set out in MARPOL Annex VI.

But IMO is working on a code for gas-fuelled ships, because LNG could be an attractive fuel alternative, specifically for emission control areas (ECAs). “As the international regulator of international shipping, it is important to take a holistic approach and to ensure that the industry has the tools needed to meet the emissions standards,” said Mr. Sekimizu.

Fuel efficiency and environmental protection will also be key subjects at SMM. A Green Shipping area will be in focus at the global maritime environmental congress (gmec).