EU sulphur emission ban will hurt already sick economy: Euro shippers

THE European Shippers Council (ESC) has said low-sulphur emission rules from ships means higher transportation costs and job losses in an already fragile economy.

Specifically the ESC expressed concerns about UN new rules limiting sulphur content from marine fuels in 2015. "These new limits will be 10 times lower than at present and 35 times lower than in the case in the rest of Europe and the world," said the ESC statement.

"The European Commission must now limit the directive's huge impact, which is too generic in nature to achieve its desired outcomes," the statement said.

Saw mills, pulp and paper, steel, mining and chemical industries will be hardest hit by increases in transport costs because they are dependent on high-volume transportation and global competition gives no opportunity to increase prices, said the press release.

"Ship operators have three solutions: use scrubbers, which are not yet mature to be commercially available. Switch their ships to LNG propulsion, despite problems with the availability of LNG fuelling infrastructure or use diesel fuel, which will dramatically increase short-sea shipping prices and cause a loss of competitiveness," the ESC said.

"Shippers, and the wider business community, are not opposed to harder sulphur rules at sea but higher transportation costs threaten several important industries and will lead to job-losses," said the ESC statement.

The European Shippers' Council also recommends the creation of schemes that will avoid the loss of competitiveness within Europe such as eco-bonus schemes which help manage transport demand.

Such systems limit the impact of such environmental constraints while preserving the level-playing field in maritime transport, saving jobs and creating growth as well as effectively having environmental benefits, said the statement.