Shipping Industry Carbon Plan Includes Penalties

The World Shipping Council and regulators in Japan say their joint plan on vessel efficiency would set fees for operators of ships that do not meet new environmental and energy standards.

The shipping group and the Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released details on Tuesday of the Vessel Efficiency Incentive Scheme the submitted to the International Maritime Organization, a plan sets a regulatory path for environmental improvements in the business.
The paper details their joint proposal to stimulate improvements in the carbon efficiency of the world’s maritime fleet in detail, including how the system would work in practice and how it compares to other proposals under consideration by the IMO.
The proposal would establish efficiency standards for both new and existing ships in the world fleet. Vessel efficiency would be measured using the Energy Efficiency Design Index developed by the IMO.
New and existing ships meeting the specified standards would not be subject to any fees or costs other than those costs associated with the design and installation of more efficient ship technologies.
Ships that fall short would be required to pay a fee based on the amount of fuel consumed and how far short of standard the specific ship falls. The per-unit fee applied to each metric ton of fuel is adjusted based on the relative efficiency of the vessel. Ocean carriers and said it hopes the paper and the joint WSC-Japan proposal contribute to efforts at the IMO to address the industry’s carbon emissions.
Source: Journal of Commerce