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World Bunkering Autumn 2010 29 environment ECA realities start to hit home T he shipping and bunkering industries are now coming to terms with the reality of a 1% sulphur limit in the North Sea and Baltic Emission Control Areas ( ECAs), and also with the inevitability of a similar, strictly enforced regime around North America in two years time. The latest reduction in the sulphur limits allowed by the revised Annex VI ( Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships ( MARPOL convention) entered into force on 1 July 2010. The 1% cap is part of a progressive reduction of SOx emissions which will also see the global sulphur cap outside the ECAs reduced initially to 3.5%, from the current 4.5%, on 1 January 2012 and then in phases to 0.5 % from 1 January 2020. The 0.5% limit is subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018. Within the ECAs the cap will be reduced to 0.10% from 1 January 2015. The 1% cap does not appear to have caused too many problems so far, and sufficient supplies appear to be available. The scheduled 2012 introduction of the North American ECA has, however, prompted cruiseship company Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines to look very carefully at whether to include calls in North America once the North American Emission Control Area ( ECA) comes into force in August 2012. The company says reports that it plans to " drop its Canada/ New England itinerary after August 2012" are premature and that nothing definite has yet been decided about schedules after April 2012. However, it reportedly estimates that using distillates to meet the 1.5% cap would cost it an extra $ 16,340 a day. One major cruise operator has opted to test out a system that promises to both meet current sulphur oxides ( SOx) and nitrogen oxides ( NOx) limits and also dramatically cut emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Royal Caribbean Cruises is to install a pilot test plant of Singapore-based Ecospec's CSNOx system on Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas. " Every day, we are actively researching meth-odologies and technologies that will reduce our emissions of not only SO and NOx, but also CO ² as part of our comprehensive strategy to reduce our environmental impact," said Jamie Sweeting, global chief environmental officer and vice president of environmental steward-ship for Royal Caribbean Cruises. He added: " We are optimistic that the CSNOx system will help us to meet our goal." The CSNOx technology was installed and tested on the White Sea, a Tanker Pacific panamax vessel, in 2009. The results of this test, pub-lished by Ecospec in February 2010, revealed a 99% reduction in SOx emissions, a 66% drop in NOx, and a 77% drop in CO ² . Additionally, Ecospec says, wash water test results surpassed the IMO's exhaust gas cleaning discharge criteria. The Royal Caribbean pilot test is expected to be complete by spring next year. Another North American- based shipoperator, Canada Steamship Lines ( CSL), has signed a letter of intent with Ecospec for both parties to work together to develop and install CSNOx technology within the CSL fleet. While there has been a large degree of industry scepticism about the CSNOx system, it is expected to shortly be type approved by ABS as an SOx and NOx scrubber. The US classification society has also verified tests showing significant removal rates of CO ² . The willing-ness of two major North American operators to test the system will be widely seen as a vote of confidence for Ecospec. Warm words for LNG The past few months have seen increasingly strong support from sev-eral classification societies for the idea of a major switch to LNG as a major, possibly even principal, fuel for the world's commercial fleet. Bureau Veritas, Det Norske Veritas and GL have all issued state-ments flagging up LNG as the possible fuel of the future. In June last year, IMO's Maritime Safety Committee ( MSC) Going green David Hughes provides a round- up of the latest news and issues from the green shipping sector