Last week, IAPH attended the 13th meeting of the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 13), held 9-13 February. The meeting saw member states and international organisations discuss approaches to address concerns about high NOx emissions from Tier II and Tier III engines and ways to harmonise the rules and guidance on discharge water from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) in the marine environment. On NOx emissions, IAPH submitted a document highlighting issues of non-performance of NOx Tier II and Tier III standards in ports and confined waterways; and recommended that the Sub-Committee reconsider the duty cycles and revise standards to ensure compliance.

Although delegations acknowledged the need to address this gap in performance, there were diverging views on how to proceed while paying due consideration to factors such as fuel consumption, GHG emissions, administrative burden, data quality and engine retrofitting. Ultimately, PPR 13 recommended that additional work be carried out intersessionally to develop and assess regulatory options. On scrubbers, member states and industry bodies remain divided on the need to implement regulatory measures and instruments to restrict the discharge of discharge water from EGCS. Some delegations submitted proposals to amend MARPOL Annex VI to allow coastal states to restrict discharges in areas of particular biological or environmental sensitivity. This was met with opposing views and it was clear that additional work would be required to reach consensus.

Therefore the Sub-Committee agreed to invite MEPC to extend the target completion year of this output to 2027. Finally, through its Future Fuels and Technology Project, the IMO held a technical seminar on marine biofuels on Thursday 12 February. The event saw industry bodies and delegations share experiences and data on the use of biofuels as a long-term future fuel in the energy transition.
Source: IAPH