Campaign to enforce ocean emission regs gains support

Trident Alliance adds new members, studies tools that could aid regulators.    Five companies have joined the Trident Alliance — a coalition of ship owners and operators pushing European and other authorities to enforce sulfur emission regulations — since the organization’s official launch in July. 
   The new members are Monaco charterer Scorpio; Dutch charterer Flinter; Solvang, a Norwegian operator of liquid bulk vessels; Nordic Tankers; and Ardmore Shipping Corp., according to a news release.
   The 17 members account for 7 percent of global bunker fuel consumption in the shipping industry.
   The Trident Alliance (learn more in the feature story “Going after dirty cheaters,” also available in the July hard copy and digital issues) has as its mission the creation of a level playing field for environmental compliance. New international rules to reduce ship pollution went into effect two years ago, with stricter limits for use of low-sulfur in emission control areas around North America, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Caribbean. In January, the allowable sulfur level for marine engines will drop even further, requiring the use of much more expensive marine diesel oil and/or alternative emission filtration systems. Global sulfur rules could tighten again in 2020 or 2025, and Europe is expected in a few years to require low-sulfur fuel for vessels traveling within a certain distance of its coasts.
   Trident members say they are concerned they could be at a competitive disadvantage if they incur heavy costs to meet the new emissions requirements while other carriers skirt the rules.
   Technological solutions being studied to support vigorous enforcement include deployment of handheld sulfur monitors to quickly measure sulfur levels in fuel; remote-controlled drones equipped with sensors to take air readings around vessels at sea; and automated reporting of fuel-line temperature as an indicator of whether a vessel is running on heavy fuel oil or marine gas oil.
   The founding Trident members are American Ro/Ro Carrier, EUKOR (car carrier), Höegh Autoliners, J. Lauritzen, Maersk Line, Maersk Tankers, Rickmers Linie, Stena, Torvald Klaveness, UECC, Unifeeder, and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics.