Date: 1st June 2008
New Rulings Turn "Grey" into "Black & White"
During the last meeting of the IMO the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) reached a key decision in agreeing a "Unified Interpretation" saying that the reporting limits for Sulphur Content under Regulation 14 of Marpol Annex VI should be given to two decimal digits. Therefore the global limit is 4.50% and a limit of 1.50% in the emission control areas (ECA’s).
The procedure for "Fuel Oil Verification" was also agreed and follows the procedure previously proposed during the Bulk Liquid and Gas (BLG) committee meeting in February.
It was agreed at that a procedure should be adopted for testing of fuel samples to be able to verify a result to compare against the absolute values of 4.50% & 1.50%.
Precision principles state that when applying 95% confidence a fuel of LSFO nominally 1.50% could fall in the range of 1.42% to 1.58%. Fuel Suppliers would of course aim to achieve a blend as close to 1.50% as possible, however this results in many cases of fuels being tested off specification in the grey zone "1.51% to 1.58%".
The new "two digit" ruling together with the "Fuel Oil Verification" procedure means that fuel suppliers will need to blend to a target sulphur content of 1.42% to ensure that the fuel meets the 1.50% sulphur limit with 95% confidence.
The procedure ends any confusion and means there is no longer a "comfort zone" that Suppliers and Ship Operators are able to fall back on. Port State Control (PSC) now has a clear guidance to follow when testing official samples. It is believed that ships are now more likely to be randomly approached to demonstrate compliance as pressure mounts on environmental issues.
We would strongly recommend that all our clients ensure that Marpol Annex VI Samples and Bunker Delivery Notes are compliant and stored safely.
Technical Department
Guardian Marine Testing Ltd.
Telephone: +44 (0)1642 440991
Telefax: +44 (0)1642 458537
Email: technical@gmtlab.com
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