World Bunkering > News > Spring 2011 > All eyes on MEPC

The understandings reached at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC - COP 16) in Cancún at the end of last year give the IMO the opportunity to come forward with effective measures to reduce CO2 emissions. This was part of an upbeat assessment by the UN agency’s Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos following COP 16.

He said: “It is now up to IMO to redouble its efforts to make further progress on its work plan, through intensive and meaningful deliberations at the July 2011 session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee. A successful outcome to that session will enable IMO, when the Durban Conference convenes in December 2011 ....to present tangible results demonstrating [IMO] members’ commitment and determination to add the organization’s contribution to the world efforts to combat climate change.”

He said that although the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNCCC - COP 16) meeting in Cancún did not make specific decisions on the international transport sector, “the indications are that the IMO position and progress has been duly taken into account”.

Mr Mitropoulos said, in an IMO statement, that UNCCC has once again noted the progress made by the IMO on its work plan to limit or reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping. IMO was invited to continue informing future conferences and their subsidiary bodies of the Organization’s progress on this issue. This, he said, augurs well for the outcome of next year’s COP 17 in Durban, South Africa.

At Cancún, IMO worked towards two objectives: that the IMO should continue pursuing the reduction or limitation of GHG emissions from international shipping; and making the UNFCCC Parties aware of progress made since the Copenhagen Conference on all three pillars of the IMO’s work plan – technical, operational and market-based measures.

Mr Mitropoulos also said that: “To the positives of the outcome of the Conference, as far as IMO is concerned, should be added the suggestion that, within efforts aimed at raising climate change financing through the international transport sector, further work on market-based measures should be taken forward in IMO and the International Civil Aviation Organization.”

EEDI developments

While the IMO continues to work on developing its Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), a row has broken out between the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and not-for-profit organisation Carbon War Room (CWR), founded by Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson. Meanwhile EU-funded research is to investigate how the EEDI can be applied to ferries and other specialised vessels.

CWR has published an online database of efficiency data for 60,000 individual merchant ships, prompting a war of words with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). CWR’s intention in publishing the EEDI details of the world fleet on its website is to allow customers to compare the carbon footprint of the ships they are using.

ICS has made clear it has considerable problems with this project and Sir Richard’s claim in an interview with the UK’s Guardian newspaper that ‘the shipping industry was doing pretty well nothing’ about greenhouse gases did not help relations between the two sides. ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe complained that the EEDI was being used completely out of context by CWR.

CWR said that by the end of 2010, the site had logged over 25,000 visitors, while over 1,500 users had registered to make full use of the online service.

“We’re delighted by the response from the industry, but this is just the beginning,” said CWR’s chief operating officer Peter Boyd. He said the aim of the new ‘online data hub’ was to enable market participants to more easily factor in vessel efficiency to their decision making.

CWR claims that, by employing methodology and data already available, its website provides a ‘commercially-focused tool, operating independently to, and ahead of, the regulatory pathway’. Implicitly countering ICS’s objections, Mr Boyd said: “We spent time beforehand talking to various shipping-related stakeholders, and easy, free access to information on vessel efficiency is what they said they most needed to secure the triple win in shipping – reduced fuel burn, costs, and carbon emissions.”

Mr Hinchliffe said that the shipping industry body was concerned that CWR used different formulae from IMO to calculate EEDIs. He also said that there was no transparency for the owner who did not know what data was being used for the calculations. He added: “We should remember that IMO and the shipping industry are working together to build upon the progress achieved over the past 50 years. The industry’s earnest wish is to have legislation in place following the next IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting this year.”

ICS and its member national shipping associations are firmly against CWR’s project, but it does have the support of a number of big shipping operators, including Heidmar and AP Moller - Maersk. Jacob Sterling, head of Climate and Environment for Maersk Line gave his support saying: “Transparency on carbon emissions is essential for businesses to make decisions with consideration for the environment. Maersk Line recently became the first shipping line in the world to have its carbon footprint verified by an independent body, vessel by vessel. We have decided to share this data with the Carbon War Room. Now everyone can see clearly how our vessels perform, both our customers and the general public. We welcome the new initiative on shipping transparency, and would encourage other shipping lines to share their data as well.”

Mr Hinchliffe commented: “We should remember that IMO and the shipping industry are working together to build upon the progress achieved over the past 50 years. The industry’s earnest wish is to have legislation in place following the next IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting this year.”

Much less controversially, EU-funded research is intended to look at one of the more hotly debated aspects of IMO’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has awarded Deltamarin a contract for a study on tests and trials of the EEDI which will focus on ro-ros and specialist ships. There has been considerable concern voiced by sections of the shipping industry, and especially by ferry association, Interferry, that the EEDI as so far developed is not appropriate for ferries and some other specialised vessels.

An EMSA statement says: “The main objective of the contract is to provide EMSA with a technical study on the EEDI, in order to refine the EEDI application for certain categories of ro-ro ships (volume and weight carriers) and to identify the potential application of the EEDI or any alternative method to improve energy efficiency of purpose built vessels from a technical and design point of view.”

EMSA says that Deltamarin’s commission includes firstly the refinement of the EEDI formula for ro-ro (volume and weight carriers) and ro-pax vessels. In this context Deltamarin shall assess the current baselines approach for volume and weight carriers and consider the various IMO submissions at previous MEPC.

If necessary, a refinement / adjustment of the baselines for the volume and weight carriers shall be proposed. Deltamarin shall also identify possible correction factors to be included in the EEDI formula for ro-ro and ro-pax vessels. In case no correction factor is suitable, Deltamarin shall develop an alternative approach to address energy efficiency for the applicable vessel types, arrange test/trials of the proposed approach, and draw conclusions on its suitability. The study will also include a comparative analysis looking at the GHG emission reduction potential between the current EEDI approach and the potential new proposal.

Deltamarin has also been tasked to develop a framework to address the energy efficiency of purpose built vessels and specialised ships. Based on representative samples establishing baselines for these vessel categories, requirements for any additional correction factors will be identified. The main goal will be to develop methods on how to improve the energy efficiency of these vessels at the design phase.