New Regulations become in Force
Sulphur emissions will be reduced

Shipping is becoming even more environmentally-friendly

One topic has been causing quite a stir in the shipping business for months now: The sulphur emissions of ship engines and the expansion of the SECAs in accordance with MARPOL Annex VI. The limit values that are stipulated there for the sulphur content in the fuel of ships' engines are furnishing topics for lively discussion. Since 11th August 2007, the North Sea has also been listed as a SECA, a Sulphur Emission Control Area.

Besides the safety and security of shipping, protection of the seas is one of the main concerns of the International Maritime Organization IMO. The environmental rules are set forth in the MARPOL convention (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) and supplementary chapters. Annex VI deals with emissions of pollutants. Attention here is not focussed on the greenhouse gas CO2 - after all on the one hand the ship is in any case considered to be the most environmentally-friendly means of transport and on the other hand the participants are working hard on reducing fuel consumption and thus also the output of CO2 - but on the emissions of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides (SOx, NOx) as well as of fine dust particles.

The North Sea is a new SECA

The MARPOL Annex VI, which has been in force since May 2005, prescribes a maximum sulphur content in the fuel of 4.5 weight percent worldwide. Stricter regulations can be stipulated for especially sensitive marine regions. In these SECAs, the sulphur content is then limited to only 1.5 %. An alternative to low-sulphur fuel would be a technically very complex cleaning of the exhaust gases in order to filter out the sulphur oxides. The first SECA was set up for the Baltic Sea with effect from 19th May 2006 (see OnBoard No. 12), while for the area of the North Sea and adjoining areas such as the English Channel or the River Elbe according to MARPOL this applies from 22nd November 2007. The European Union (EU) advanced the date to the 11th of August 2007.

Uniform rules are desirable

According to an EU Directive, from the beginning of 2010 only fuel with a sulphur content of 0.1 % may be used during port times in European ports. The setting up of further SECAs is being discussed and other countries - the USA and Australia have not ratified Annex VI - are discussing their own measures or are already engaged in implementing same.
”If the IMO does not succeed in reaching agreement on solutions, we will see more and more regional special rules”, Assistant Secretary Bernd Tšrkel, Head of the WS department (Waterways and Shipping) at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Construction and Urban Development (BMVBS), recently emphasised at a forum of the Germanischer Lloyd. The shipping business should adjust to this in good time and play a constructive role in finding solutions. At the same time the international character of sea-borne trade must be
taken into account as also must the integration of all flag states in order to guarantee the same competitive conditions everywhere. The quality of the fuels must also be improved, the Ministry representative is quoted as saying. What may at first glance appear to make sense in terms of environmental policies confronts the people who work in this business with enormous tasks due to the large number of variant forms. Because bunkering two, or in future three or four kinds of fuel with different sulphur contents on board simply necessitates a corresponding number of tank and pipeline systems!

The fleet-vessels of Hanseatic Lloyd are prepared

Hanseatic Lloyd oriented itself to the new requirements at an early stage. All tankers - which currently operate exclusively in SECAs - have been correspondingly converted during their latest dry dock maintenance stopovers. With substantial effort and expense, the cylinder lubricating oil system of the main engine was expanded to permit a switchover to special low TBN oil (TBN = Total Base Number) when burning low-sulphur fuel of less than under 1.1 %. The containerships of the Hanseatic Lloyd fleet - including the four newbuildings - also feature corresponding technical equipment and can be operated worldwide without any restrictions. However at the moment the containerships are operating on routes outside of the SECAs.

What is to be done

It is expected that in future the Port State Control will take random samples of the bunker samples that are carried on board of the ships and will test these for their sulphur content. This bunker sample - the so-called MARPOL sample - is taken when bunkering the ship and is kept on board. This sample must be carried on board until the fuel on board has been consumed, but at least for one year.

If the sulphur content then found does not agree with the corresponding BDN (Bunker Delivery Note) of the fuel supplier, high fines can be imposed on the ship.

Furthermore all bunker supplies must be entered into the Oil Record Book as well as recently also into the Bunker Sample and SECA Fuel Changeover Record Book. In future, the Port State Control in Europe will control this more closely.

Sulphur dioxide

Sulphur is a chemical element (”S”) that occurs relatively frequently. Elementary sulphur can be recognised by its yellow colour. It mostly occurs in bonded form as a salt of hydrogen sulphide (sulphide, e. g. pyrite) or of sulphuric acid (sulphates such as for example gypsum). Sulphur also occurs in biological molecules such as amino acids. If sulphur-containing substances (for example fossil fuels) are burnt, sulphur oxides are formed, above all sulphur dioxide SO2 (with a characteristic, pungent odour). This combines further with oxygen and water in the air to form sulphuric acid H2SO4, which then falls to earth again as ”acid rain”. Used selectively, SO2 can have a disinfectant effect.

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