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Emission Compliance

Ensure long-term sustainability of your vessel and fleet’s commercial operations.

Regulatory requirements such as the IMO2020 and the EU MRV will have far-reaching consequences on vessel emissions and cleaner vessel operations. Be better at lowering your vessel’s emissions and carbon footprint.

Understanding the regulations – EU MRV, IMO DCS and IMO 2020

EU MRV
The EU MRV is aimed at cutting CO2 emissions from shipping activities. The regulation came into force on 1 July 2015 and represents a first step towards building an international system with reduced carbon emissions in the maritime industry.

Under the EU MRV, it is required for operators of ships exceeding 5,000 GT to monitor, report and verify carbon emissions for voyages to, from and within the EU area. They have to submit a monitoring plan to a verifier for approval stating the data collection method chosen to monitor and report emissions. Reports may be submitted online and can be done annually or on a voyage-by-voyage basis per ship.

IMO DCS
The IMO DCS is a mandatory Fuel Oil Data Collection System (DCS) for international shipping adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The regulation came into force on 1 March 2018. It requires owners of ships of 5,000 GT and above to have a Data Collection Plan (DCP), with inclusions stating method to measure fuel oil consumption, method to measure distance travelled, method to measure hours underway, ship engines and other fuel oil consumers and fuel oil types used, among other components. The data reports are to be submitted to an IMO database from 2019.

While both EU MRV and IMO DCS are aimed at reducing carbon emissions from ships, the regulations have a slightly different scope – EU MRV applies to shipping activities to, from and within the EU area, and the IMO DCS applies to emissions from global shipping activities.

IMO 2020
The IMO 2020 that came into force on 1 January 2020 requires ship owners to comply to the new sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions of not more than 0.5% worldwide. Cutting SOx emissions from ships is the essence of the regulation because it is environmentally harmful, having the ability to lead to acid rain which contributes to the acidification of the oceans, and SOx are also harmful to human health.

Ships of all sizes, large or small, are required to meet the regulation of using fuel oil that meets the 0.5% limit. The regulation also applies to ships on international voyages (between two or more countries) or domestic voyages, solely within the waters of a Party to the MARPOL Annex.

What can ship owners do to meet the IMO 2020 regulation?
Compliance to IMO 2020 already has an extensive impact on the maritime industry affecting fuel supply, alternative fuel sources, shipping operational costs and other aspects. There are several ways outlined by IMO on how to meet the IMO 2020 regulation.

(1) Ships need to use fuel oil which is inherently low enough in sulphur, in order to meet IMO requirements.

(2) Ships can have engines which can use different fuels, which may contain low or zero sulphur. For example, liquefied natural gas (LNG), or biofuels. Find out more about LNG-Fuelled Ships (LFS).

(3) Ships can use “scrubbers” – an exhaust cleaning system installed on the vessel to remove SOx from ship emissions – as an alternative means to meet the sulphur limit requirement. Vessels can use heavy fuel oil as long as their fitted “scrubber” can achieve the same level of emissions reductions.

(4) Refineries may blend fuel oil with a high (non-compliant) sulphur content with fuel oil with a sulphur content lower than the required sulphur content to achieve a compliant fuel oil. Additives may be added to enhance other properties, such as lubricity.

Regulatory compliance and reporting – how can Emission Compliance help?

Evolving international and regional regulations in the maritime industry such as the IMO2020 and the European Union’s shipping monitoring, reporting and verification (EU MRV) regulation makes compliance a top priority for efficient vessel and fleet utilisation. The Emission Compliance application equips users and fleet owners with emission reports required for reporting and regulatory compliance under EU MRV and IMO DCS.

Data presented includes:

Port departure and arrival, including the date and hour of departure and arrival. Smart analytics are used to auto-detect when the vessel arrives and departs from port
Amount and emission factor for each type of fuel consumed in total
Total CO2 emitted
Distance travelled
Time spent at sea

The data collected is analysed and converted into insights on vessel emissions based on fuel consumption activities, enabling the compliance process to be simpler and more transparent.