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Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Answer

The aim of Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans and the Energy Efficiency Design Index is to improve energy efficiency of ships and thereby reduce the amount of CO₂ they emit. Improving the energy efficiency of a ship will normally result in lower fuel consumption, which will have the effect of proportionately reducing all gaseous emissions, including sulphur oxides. However, this would not achieve compliance with the sulphur limits in the revised Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention, or with the new EU directive 2012/33/EU. To comply with the International Maritime Organisation and EU sulphur limits, shipowners would either have to use a compliant fuel oil, install suitable abatement technology (e.g. an exhaust gas cleaning system) or switch to a low-sulphur alternative fuel (e.g. liquefied natural gas).

The Department for Transport's Maritime and Coastguard Agency has produced guidance on Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans, and I expect it to be published in the week commencing 17 December as a supplement to the existing international guidance produced by the IMO. No other UK Government Department has published guidance on these plans.

The Government is aware of concerns, including concerns about increased road freight journeys and reduced freight movements by sea, which have been raised by some elements of industry. On 22 October, I hosted a round table discussion with a range of industry stakeholders to consider cost-effective and technical solutions which could be used to meet the new requirements. At that meeting, I explicitly invited the shipping, freight logistics and ports industries to provide evidence to the Department to support claims about negative impacts, either in aggregate or concentrating on specific routes. Following on from this meeting, I am pleased to say that elements of the shipping industry have commissioned a study to consider the economic and social impact of the new requirements. In parallel, the Government is looking at ways of helping the industries to meet the new regulatory requirements.

The Government will also publish a draft impact assessment as part of the transposition of the new directive next year. The deadline for transposing the directive into domestic legislation is 18 June 2014.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

134036; 555 cc546-8W

Session

2012-13

Subjects

Exhaust emissions Freight Pollution control Shipping

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk