Imposing sulphur cap easier said than done

IN AN unusual move, leading environmental organisations and the global shipping industry have come together to call for an explicit prohibition on the carriage of non-compliant marine fuels in 2020, when the global 0.5 per cent sulphur cap kicks in.

Their joint statement asserts: "Unless a ship is using an approved equivalent compliance method, there should be no reason for it to be carrying non-compliant fuels for combustion on board."

Well, that is correct - but only up to a point, and we will come back to that.