A week of fraught negotiations at International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 73 meeting ended with a delay to finalising efficiency targets for future new vessel designs.
MEPC 73 delegates disagreed over several aspects of the third phase of IMO’s energy efficiency design index (EEDI), which sets out design parameters intended to improve efficiency and lower emissions of commercial shipping vessels as compared to a baseline average, broken down by vessel type.
Negotiations centred around the implementation date of EEDI phase 3 for different ship types. EEDI phase 3 requires vessels to meet a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) grams per tonne mile as compared to a baseline average for ships built between 2000 and 2010.
On Wednesday (24 October), the committee agreed to retain the provisional phase 3 start date of 1 January 2025 for tankers and bulk carriers, and significant support was voiced for moving the phase 3 start date for container ships to 2022. Container vessels would face a mandate to reduce CO2 by 40% over early 2000s levels if current IMO discussions hold.
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However, the group did not manage to reach an agreement concerning vessels grouped under the heading "other types of vessels", which includes LNG, LPG and other gas-powered vessels as well as reefers, some passenger ferries and cruise vessels using "non-conventional" propulsion methods.
States with delegations at MEPC were “evenly split” over the start date for EEDI phase 3 being moved forward to 2022 from the original 2025 start date for these vessel types, according to MEPC chair Hideaki Saito.
Mr Saito invited proposals and tabled discussion on the matter for MEPC 74, which is tentatively set for May 2019.
Even if IMO reaches agreement on the EEDI amendments at MEPC 74, the group will not be able to adopt EEDI phase 3 rules until MEPC 75, currently set for 2020.
Debate focused mainly on what those in favour of retaining the 2025 start date for the “other” vessels called a lack of sufficient data.
As one industry delegation’s representative said, LNG and other gas carriers, some cruise ships, ropax vessels and others have a "clear lack of data" to take a decision. The group “recommended further proposals for different ship types that could be heard at MEPC 74” and said there was “no pressing need” to take the decision at MEPC 73.
In contrast, one of IMO’s NGO delegations said, by delaying the decision on the EEDI implementation date, IMO was, “arguably, stumbling at the first hurdle in the implementation of its greenhouse gas strategy”.
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