Paris MoU will take new sulfur limits seriously “from day one”

MAY 14, 2018 — Port state control authorities will take enforcement of new fuel sulfur limits seriously “from day one,” says Richard Schiferli, Secretary General of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) .

The new limits enter into force on January 1, 2020. At a committee meeting held in Cascais, Portugal, last week, the Paris MoU agreed to issue a “Letter of Warning,” starting January 1, 2019, to encourage timely compliance. Secretary General Richard Schiferli stated that this will be a signal to the industry.

The committee also approved the questionnaire for the CIC on MARPOL Annex VI to be carried out jointly with the Tokyo MoU. The CIC aims at checking ships’ compliance with requirements for the prevention of air pollution and will be carried out from September to November 2018. The questionnaire will be published in August.

As part of a review of the current inspection regime, the Paris MoU says “significant progress” was made with a new methodology for calculating flag state and recognized organization (RO) performance, used for targeting ships for inspection.
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The committee adopted the 2017 Annual Report, including the White, Gray and Black List and the performance list of recognized organizations. The lists will be published in early June and used for targeting purposes from July 1, 2018. The Annual Report will be published in July this year.