No delay

Consistent implementation is the only option when it comes to the 0.50 per cent limit on sulphur in fuel oil, which comes into force in 2020. How to ensure consistent implementation will be the subject of discussions at the next session of IMO’S Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response, in February 2018, and during an intersessional working group later in 2018. Compliance, enforcement and monitoring will be the remit and responsibility of both flag states and port states. The bunkering industry will also have a part to play in ensuring high-sulphur fuel oil continues to be supplied to ships equipped with approved equivalent methods, such as exhaust gas cleaning systems or “scrubbers”.