WSC proposes fuel standards for ships

WSC proposes fuel standards for ships    The World Shipping Council and its members are proposing ships be required to meet fuel efficiency standards similar to those for cars and trucks in the United States and other countries.
   The council is proposing a “vessel efficiency system” (VES) to the International Maritime Organization, whose Marine Environmental Protection Committee meets in March.
   The standards, which would be periodically tightened, would apply to both new and existing ships in order to reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by the world's fleet.
   Standards for existing ships would be less aggressive than those for new ships, in recognition of the fact that they have a more limited ability to improve efficiency. But the council said it was important for existing vessels to be included because of the long life of ships, with most operating for 25 to 30 years before being scrapped.
   Under the VES proposal, existing vessels meeting the established efficiency standards would operate free of any fees. Vessels that fail to meet the standards would be subject to a fee assessed for each ton of fuel consumed. Fees would be deposited into a fund managed by the IMO. The specific fee assessed would vary depending on how close the vessel was to meeting the standard, with the fees being higher for those vessels with the lowest efficiency.
   “The proposed system would reward improved efficiency across the fleet and discourage operation of the least efficient vessels,” the WSC said.
   The World Shipping Council said its proposal “shares the same strategic focus of rewarding improved vessel efficiency as proposals recently made at the IMO by Japan and the United States.”
   The VES also would provide for a fund that could be used for carbon efficiency research and development and other carbon reduction initiatives.