Global guidelines

BIMCO has moved a step closer to finishing a global set of guidelines needed to protect the marine environment from invasive species and reduce CO ₂ emissions. Currently, there is no common global standard for cleaning ship hulls to avoid transferring invasive aquatic species, nor for the potentially damaging debris washed off in the process. Every time one of the world’s 80,000 large merchant ships calls at a port, it brings foreign aquatic species on the submerged parts of the ship, also known as fouling. The organisms growing on the hull also increase drag and reduce fuel efficiency of the ship by as much as 35 per cent, leading to higher fuel bills and increased CO ₂ emissions.