The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee has reached agreement on the entry into force date of new, stricter requirements for ships’ emission of NOx in emission control areas (NECAs) according to a 7 April 2014 report from MarineLink.com.

At the last session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee, uncertainty arose about the entry into force of regulations on ships’ NOx emissions. A number of countries, headed by Russia, questioned the technical possibilities of implementing the regulations and, consequently, obtained support for postponing the entry into force until January 1, 2021. Since then, Denmark has been in close cooperation with a number of other countries, including the United States and Japan, in order to retain 2016 as the entry into force year.

The efforts made had a great impact on the result of the negotiations. The year 2016 will be retained for the NECAs already designated, while the entry into force date of new NECAs will depend on when they are decided upon.

“I am pleased that the IMO succeeded in reaching a good solution. It is important to Blue Denmark. First and foremost, it has become certain that the regulations can take effect and will have the intended environmental impact in practice. The result also removes a great part of the uncertainty as regards when the stricter requirements are to be met. This is of great importance to the shipping industry and to future investments in new ships and marine equipment,” said Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority Andreas Nordseth.

The United States is the first country where the regulations will apply already from 2016. The United States is a major market for Danish shipping. Consequently, it is important that now there is clarity as to which regulations apply and from when. The decision is also good news for Danish marine equipment manufacturers, who are leading on the world market and who have made considerable investments in the development of new technologies.

What this means to you
The United States has been a leader in establishing mobile source NOx emission control areas and has implemented the North American ECA in 2012. Now the International Maritime Organization appears to have reached a global solution that will be implemented into force in 2016.

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