• 28 Oct 2016

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has announced that the Marine Environment Protection Committee at its 70th session (MEPC 70) today agreed that a 0.5 percent global sulfur cap on marine fuel will be implemented from 2020, rather than the proposed delayed date of 2025.

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) said that while MEPC reached the decision on the 2020 implementation date by consensus, and most countries speaking during the debate session supported the 2020 date, a "significant number" of countries wanted to delay implementation until 2025 due to doubts about sufficient availability for 2020.

Several countries also expressed a desire for a phased introduction of the new rule, an idea that had been proposed by IBIA.