International musketeer oath on enforcement of sulphur regulations

By a joint “musketeer oath” a number of North Western European countries made a commitment earlier this week in Copenhagen to cooperate with a view to making the control of ships’ sulphur emissions more efficient.

The background for the meeting was the new, stricter sulphur requirements that take effect on 1 January 2015. According to these provisions, ships must use low-sulphur fuel in the so-called SECAs in the future. Since this type of fuel is considerably more expensive than ordinary fuel, there will be a large economic incentive to bypass the regulations.

Representatives from a number of North Western European countries have agreed to launch and develop specific initiatives which are intended to ensure efficient control of compliance with the new provisions. The ambition is to establish a “best practice” that it is possible to extend to other European countries. The cooperation is to be considered a supplement to the formal cooperation on control within the framework of the EU and the Paris MoU.

Among the initiatives agreed at the meeting were the following:

• The implementation of a regional inspection and information campaign with special focus on sulphur regulations.
• Exchange of information regarding possible infringements with a view to appropriate follow-up.
• Share experiences with the use of new sampling methods and monitoring technology.
• Closer political coordination of sulphur-related issues in regional and international fora.
Source: Danish Maritime Authority