Other amendments to MARPOL also entered into force, including covering the classification of garbage, adding a new category of ‘e-waste’, and amendments to the International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPPC).
The ship fuel oil consumption data reporting requirements were the latest mandatory requirements aimed at enhancing ships energy efficiency, the organisation said.
Data collection will begin on 1st January, 2019 and will be reported at the end of each calendar year to the IMO. It is intended to give the IMO concrete data on fuel oil consumption, which should assist member states to make decisions about any further measures needed to enhance energy efficiency and address greenhouse gas emissions.
The mandatory requirements were adopted by IMO’s MEPC in 2016, through amendments to chapter 4 of annex VI of MARPOL.
Under the new Regulation 22A, ships of 5,000 gt and above are required to collect consumption data for each type of fuel oil used, as well as other specified data, including proxies for transport work.
These vessels account for around 85% of CO2 emissions from international shipping, the IMO claimed.
Data will be reported to the flag state after the end of each calendar year and having determined that the data has been reported in accordance with the requirements, the flag state will issue a Statement of Compliance to the ship.
Flag states will be required to subsequently transfer this data to an IMO Ship Fuel Oil Consumption Database. In addition, the IMO will be required to produce an annual report to the MEPC, summarising the data collected.
On or before 31st December, 2018, for ships of 5,000 gt and above, the mandatory Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) will include a description of the methodology to be used to collect the data and the processes that will be used to report the data to the flag state.
The new mandatory data collection system is intended to be the first in a three-step approach in which analysis of the data collected will provide the basis for an objective, transparent and inclusive policy debate in the MEPC, under a roadmap (through to 2023) for developing a ‘Comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships’, the IMO said. This roadmap was agreed in 2016.
The next stage will see an initial GHG strategy, which is expected to be adopted at MEPC 72 (9th-13th April, 2018). This session will be preceded by the third session of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction IMO of GHG Emissions from Ships (3rd-6th April).
The initial strategy is expected to include, inter alia, a list of candidate short-, mid-, and long-term further measures, with possible timelines, to be revised as appropriate, as additional information becomes available. The data collected under the mandatory reporting system will help inform the MEPC when it comes to adopting a revised strategy in 2023.
Amendments to update Form B of the IOPPC supplement in relation to segregated ballast tanks also entered into force on the same day.