Shipping is one of the most heavily regulated industries and was amongst the first to adopt widely implemented international safety standards. Regulations concerning shipping are developed at the global level.

EU MRV and IMO DCS Regulations

Global shipping emissions have risen by 70% in the past 30 years. On that note, the European Union has introduced the MRV Regulation in shipping, which is theMonitoring, Reporting and Verification that collects data on carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport, based on the fuel consumption of vessels. This regulation, initially proposed in June 2013, and introduced in July 2015, aims to decrease carbon dioxide emissions from shipping, and requires ship owners and operators to annually monitor, report and verify carbon dioxide emissions from ships over 5,000 gross tonnage visiting EY and EFTA (Norway and Iceland) ports. Data is collected on a per voyage basis, starting on 1^st January 2018, and applies to commercial transportation of both people and cargo. The regulation will result in publicly available data for over 12,000 ships across the EU.

The reported carbon dioxide emissions will be verified by independent certified bodies such as classification societies, and then sent to a database run by the EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency). The data will be published by the European Commission by 30^th June 2019, and from then on, on an annual basis.

The MRV regulation collects data on vessels’ CO2 emissions (the main greenhouse gas emitted by ships) and their fuel efficiency (using 6 indicators for technical and operational efficiency). Operational efficiency data include the identity of the ship, its annual CO2 emissions, annual fuel consumption, and annual time spent at sea. By making data collection and reporting so transparent, the MRV regulation will promote fuel efficiency.

Therefore, to comply with this new regulation, ship owners and operators must create a monitoring plan for their vessels that are subject to regulation. This should include identification of the ship and shipping company, quality control procedures, identification of emissions sources and description of procedures for monitoring voyages and fuel consumption. The plan is submitted to the verification body, where it is assessed, and then the monitoring can begin. Data is compiled into an annual report, which must be verified by the 30^th April 2019 and then sent to the EC and the flag state. The vessel will receive a Statement of Compliance, which should be carried on board the vessel from June 2019 onwards.

There are a few differences between the EU MRV and the IMO fuel data systems. First, the IMO only requires reporting of fuel consumed, whereas the EU MRV regulation requires reporting of the cargo, fuel consumed and carbon dioxide emissions. IMO calculations are verified by the administration, according to national procedures, whereas EU MRV calculations are made by the shipping owners and companies and verified by an accredited body. Finally, the data from the IMO is only available to the IMO and flag states, who share aggregated, anonymized data, whereas the EU data is publicly available, offering greater transparency.

IMO NOx Tier III

The IMO NOx Tier III requirements came into force in the North American and US Caribbean Emission Control Areas (ECAs) from January 1st 2016, and applied to all vessels with keel-laying on or after the 1^st January 2016, with an engine output of 130kW or more. If new NOx ECAs take effect (e.g. for the North Sea and Baltic Sea), the Tier III emission limits apply to vessels with keel-laying on, or after, the date when the new NOx ECAs come into force.

For the decrease from NOx Tier II limits to NOx Tier III limits (defined in the IMO MARPOL Annex VI regulation 13), it was stated that NOx emissions had to experience a 75% decrease. This can be achieved through various technologies, such as selective catalytic reduction, exhaust gas circulation, dual fuel engines or pure gas engines, fuel cells or fuel cell hybrid systems and batteries/hybrid.

Vessels with diesel engines need to comply with IMO MARPOL Annex VI regulation 13 and the NOx Technical Code 2008. Every engine needs to have an EIAPP certificate (Engine International Air Pollution Prevention Certificate) that demonstrates compliance of the engine, including technologies to reduce NOx. These certificates are issued by recognized bodies on behalf of the respective flag. The EIAPP Certificate and the NOx Technical File should be kept on board the vessel.

In addition, the IMO has officially set regulations for low Sulphur fuel come 2020. What this means is that Sulphur emission levels will have to fall from the current 3.5% down to 0.5%. The 0.1% limit set in ECA areas will still be in place.

One of the biggest environmental problems globally is the increase in waste, be it industrial or agricultural, and its improper management, ultimately causing a rise in pollution of air, land and sea. We all know that there are tremendous recycling efforts going on in different parts of the world. Whilst transportation by sea is one of the most environmentally friendly ways of moving commodities in a large scale worldwide, the shipping industry does contribute to pollution through recycling due to disposal of the ships themselves when they are no longer in use; the most common way to get rid of a ship at the end of her useful life is shipbreaking, but this often leads to toxic substances entering the oceans and beaches. Nonetheless, the shipping industry is stepping up to do more about the waste it produces as a result of recycling.

What is green ship recycling?

This is where green ship recycling steps in. The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (2009) highlighted that ships that are recycled should not generate unnecessary risks to human health, safety and to the environment. Instead of shipbreaking, which has a detrimental effect on the environment, green ship recycling is preferred as a responsible method of ship recycling, as it prevents waste products of shipbreaking from entering beaches. Scrap ships are made of 85% recyclable steel, and steel from ships is made into rods and bars for other uses, and other metals like aluminium, silver and brass are also recycled. However, there are toxic substances in ship components such as lead, asbestos, mercury and oil sludge, and these must be disposed of safely. Asbestos in particular is so harmful to the environment that it has been banned from being used in ships for the past 20 years, but the older ships that still contain asbestos must be disposed of properly, through recycling.

What are the benefits of green ship recycling?

Green ship recycling captures the toxic waste and disposes of it, without allowing it to enter beaches and oceans, therefore protecting the environment. It also handles the parts of the ship with greater care, which means that many parts such as generators, batteries and light fittings can be reused more easily. Proper recycling of hydrocarbons on ships can also be transformed into oil products.

How do you take part in green ship recycling?

According to the IMO, taking part requires a Green Passport, which is a document detailing all the materials that have been used in the construction of a ship. The passport will be delivered by the shipyard while the ship is constructed, and will be updated throughout the ship’s lifetime. Ship recycling centres will also have to provide a Ship Recycling Plan to authorities that will describe how each ship will be recycled.

Who is responsible for green ship recycling?

A shipping company may argue that it is the buyer of an old ship who is responsible for sending it to a sustainable recycling plant; however, the buyer might say that he/she will have to pay a higher cost for green recycling. Shipbreaking yard owners might say that shipping companies fail to provide a comprehensive inventory of hazardous materials found on ships that are sent to be recycled. In any case, allstakeholders must collaborate rather than placing the blame on each other for lack of adequate recycling methods.

Where is green ship recycling being carried out?

Green ship recycling used to only occur in developed countries that had access to the appropriate technological resources, but it is now carried out in developing countries as well. Building awareness is important, which is why events around the world are being held to educate all stakeholders on shipbreaking and green ship recycling.

How is awareness being raised?

Many organisations are taking part in raising awareness. For example, Greenpeace helped to raise awareness of the poor standards of working conditions in India’s shipbreaking yards back in 2006. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the US have set standards addressing ship breaking as well as promoting workplace safety. The International Ship Recycling Association is a key player in promoting responsible ship recycling, by running meetings and creating collaborations with shipping companies, as well as offering certification to its members that comply with standards.

The EU Ship Recycling Regulation was adopted in 2013, and aims to decrease negative effects of ship recycling on the environment, for ships of EU Member States. Within 2018, large commercial ships of EU Member States may only be recycled in responsible facilities that are listed on the European List of ship recycling facilities established in 2016. The Regulation also prohibits certain hazardous materials from being used in ships, such as asbestos and ozone-depleting substances. The European Maritime Safety Agency published a Best Practice Guidance on the Inventory of Hazardous Materials in November 2016 to contribute to this effort.

In light of some shipping accidents which have attracted press coverage, the shipping industry is erroneously not one that is commonly associated with having a positive impact on the environment. However, in addition to the fact that it is the most environmentally friendly way of transporting commodities in large quantities worldwide, in recent years, shipping has become much more focused on the environment, and the advent of green technology has helped to push this forward and turn words into actions. Now, there is more of a conscious effort to minimize fuel consumption and sulphur emission. So, what are some of the things that the shipping industry is doing in its quest to become greener?

In addition to new technologies, Jan Fransen of the Green Award Foundation highlights that international maritime regulations are also developing to make shipping cleaner and safer. He says that sustainable shipping will be achieved faster through taking responsibility and strong stakeholder collaboration, and shipping companies will be motivated to act through incentives offered by marine service providers and ports.

Shipping is at the heart of business. Without it, global supply chains would suffer, since 90% of all goods like food and clothes are carried by ships. The bigger ships carry more product and use up less fuel for each unit of goods that they carry, therefore creating less pollution to the environment. However, the negative effects of emissions from shipping on the environment and on people are still meaningful. The answer lies in green shipping, which is efficient shipping of goods that has the least amount of negative impact on human health and the environment. One method that is used in shipping to reduce emissions is speed reduction, or slow steaming, which involves operating a ship at a significantly lower speed than its maximum speed.

One major shipping related issue is air quality, particularly around ports, which are often located in heavily populated areas. And air quality does not only refer to air pollution – it also includes noise pollution. While it was not a major issue 20 years ago, noise pollution is one of the top priorities to tackle. The way to approach this is by changing regulations through collaboration with all stakeholders involved. The Green Award Foundation plays a part in this – it is a program for inland barging and seagoing shipping, working with ports and centre providers to motivate ship owners to make that extra step. It currently has 66 service providers offering incentives to shipping companies to join, such as Dynamarine, Alpha Marine, Hudson Analytix, EBE, ErmaFirst and Katradis. The Foundation works with the World Ports Climate Initiative which represents the environmental shipping index from the ports, and with Right Ship, granting an extra star in the program when your ship is certified by Green Award.

The demand for faster shipping and the lack of a single body that makes decisions on global distribution means that there is no connected system for green shipping. However, green shipping efforts are taking place around the world, especially since the International Maritime Organization’s regulatory measures were imposed recently. These focused around:

• Monitoring fuel consumption;
• Decreasing sulphur emissions; and
• Improving the management of ballast water.
  
  

Ships are being designed to have better energy efficiency. This may be through innovations in electric and hybrid power generation systems, new construction materials, advances in hydrodynamics or alternative fuels to comply with regulations on lower sulphur content

Technology is also playing a role in green shipping, as new technology regulation requirements are being imposed on the shipping industry all the time. For example, systems for ballast water treatment and technologies for clean fuels. So, what are some of the recent developments in green technology in the shipping industry that is helping to drive these changes?

Ballast water treatment systems and ‘no ballast ships’: As of September 2017, according to the Ballast Water Management Convention, it is mandatory for almost every long-distance vessel to have treatment systems that kill the microorganisms that enter or exit their ballast tanks. This stops invasive marine microorganisms from being moved from one ecosystem to another through a ship’s tank, ultimately helping to conserve the biodiversity of the world’s ocean life. ‘No ballast ships’ are also an innovation in the works, to prevent this issue altogether.

Water processing and waste processing: There are several regulations across the globe that forbids the dumping of waste in the sea. To minimize waste emitted from a ship into the sea, a ship should have waste treatment systems and tanks to hold waste that can be disposed of once the ship has reached its destination, as opposed to dumping the waste in the sea. 

Sulphur scrubber system: Vessel fuel oil contains sulphur, and is efforts to reduce sulphur emission by setting up an exhaust gas scrubber system that blends the exhaust gas with water and causes the sulphur to be washed out from the exhaust gas of the engine. This could decrease sulphur emission by up to 98%, as well as decreasing emission of other pollutants. Other improvements in pollution from fuel include the use of alternative fuels.

Propeller and rudder systems: Improvements in the design of rudders and propellers, and specifically making the rudder more streamlined, can decrease the level of fuel consumption, which means that there is less pollution created, with the added benefit of making the ship faster.

LNG fuels: LNG (liquefied natural gas) is less harmful to the environment than conventional, sulphur-emitting fuels, and the combination of LNG with diesel fuel can result in fuel saving by making the vessel’s engine operate more efficiently. Less pollution is the main benefit.

Wind assisted propulsion: There have been lots of experiments on the use of wind to power vessels, including sails, kites and rotors. However, there are various risks involved, primarily related to the weather’s unpredictable nature that could hinder the success of wind-powered vessels, as well as the practical difficulties associated with structures such as masts and sails.

While there are a number of green shipping efforts aiming to reduce the human and environmental costs of the shipping industry, these are not without their challenges. However, as with all industries, sustainability and corporate social responsibility are high on the agenda, and innovation in green technology is a step in the right direction.

A meaningful amount of the global greenhouse gas emissions that negatively impact climate change is generated by the shipping industry. Although shipping is efficient at transporting goods and people, there are currently no regulatory measures to limit or decrease the one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide that is emitted from ships each year. Of course, when looking at the bigger picture, shipping only contributes a small portion of greenhouse gas emissions - around 2.5%. Nonetheless, these emissions are expected to double in the next 30 years, causing a detrimental effect on our planet. Despite this, shipping emissions are not included in the reduction pledges made in the Paris climate agreement.

There are solutions, primarily through fuel saving techniques that can help to decrease emissions from shipping, such as hull cleaning, waste heat recovery, speed reduction and propeller and rudder upgrade. Taking technical and operational measures can help to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption in the shipping sector by up to 75%. However, there are difficulties in adopting these measures, such as access to finance, lack of reliable information on how to improve fuel efficiency, and split incentives, where those who benefit from efficiency are not the ones paying for it. These are barriers that must, in a way, be overcome, to drive the shipping industry towards a more energy-efficient future. Moreover, the efficacy of some of these measures has also come into question, given that potential fuel saving as a result of these measures is usually measured in theoretical weather conditions. So, accurate – live – weather routing information based on prevailing weather conditions could yield better results.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), specialized agency of the United Nations, is responsible for setting environmental standards for shipping globally. It has a specialist greenhouse gas working group that is working on the idea of setting a cap on emissions.The IMO recently adopted an Energy Efficiency Design Index and Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan, which are a great first step, but by no means the end solution. The EU and its Member States are involved in the IMO’s initiatives for a stepped approach that is based on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of emissions. The European Commission has proposed MRV rules to be applied across the EU, which will help to agree efficiency standards, and set the legal framework for collecting and publishing verified data on carbon dioxide emissions from large ships visiting ports in the EU.

In order to have a significant effect on carbon emissions, global regulations and economic incentives will be necessary to encourage shipping companies and operators of ships and ports to take on environmentally-friendly practices. In other industries, such as consumer goods manufacturing, eco-ratings can certainly help companies to make more energy-efficient equipment, but in shipping it’s trickier. Price plays a huge role both for the builders and the buyers of ships, and end-users don’t have as powerful an influence on ship owners and operators. Global regulations will be more powerful than regional laws in this sector – on the other hand, it is important to note that regional regulations do help move the industry forward in small steps towards becoming more climate-friendly.

The one thing that is certain is that changes need to be made, sooner rather than later. More awareness must be raised of the carbon footprint of the shipping industry, and collaboration will be required by all stakeholders to drive shipping towards a greener future.