Clearing the air on scrubber discharges
Singapore's new rules on open loop scrubbers has some players in the maritime industry at loggerheads
Add BT as a preferred sourceA couple of weeks ago, the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) unexpectedly announced that the use of open loop scrubbers within territorial waters would be banned from Jan 1, 2020, provoking some criticism from parts of the maritime community. The implementation date, of course, coincides with that of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) global sulphur-in-fuel limit of 0.5 per cent.
In particular the Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association (EGCSA), which represents scrubber manufacturers, complained that the decision "came without prior notice or discussion with the IMO despite the fact that the Singapore MPA is a signatory to MARPOL Annex VI (the relevant section of IMO's convention on preventing pollution)".
An EGCSA statement continued: "The MPA provided neither scientific evidence for its decision nor was the industry invited to consultation. If there had been discussion, the Singapore MPA might have realised the high risks to human health resulting from the high toxicity of low sulphur fuels and more toxic distillates if no exhaust gas cleaning systems are used."
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