marinehound™ was created to enable the maritime industry to meet IMO 2020 targets efficiently and cost-effectively.
What is IMO 2020?
In January 2020, the International Maritime Organisation launched a 0.50% m/m limit for sulphur in fuel oil used on board ships. The limit is even stricter for ships operating within designated emission control areas (ECAs), which mut meet strict sulphur emission levels of 0.1%.
Altogether, these new regulations are set to see a 77% drop in overall sulphur oxide emissions from vessels, creating an annual reduction of approx. 8.5 million metric tonnes of SOx being released into the atmosphere.
The health and environmental impacts of significantly reducing sulphur content in marine fuels will be felt globally. It’s estimated that the sulphur cap limit will avoid 570,000 premature deaths between 2020 and 2025 alone. These regulations are also set to have a hugely positive impact on climate change.
Explore the many benefits of reducing SOx and other harmful emissions created by the shipping industry.
Health benefits
Cutting sulphur emissions from ship fuels will see reductions in:
- Asthma
- Cardiovascular
- Lung cancer
- Pulmonary & respiratory diseases
- Stroke
Environmental benefits
Reducing SOx in the atmosphere also prevents acid rain, which will result in less harm to:
- Trees, crops, and forests
- Aquatic life in freshwater ponds and lakes
- Near-shore ocean waters
Eco-friendly fuels
Shipping is already regarded as one of the most sustainable modes of transportation.
IMO 2020 ensures ships will need to switch to even cleaner, low sulphur fuel oils to meet new limits.
Cleaner harbours & coastlines
Harbours and coastal areas suffer the brunt of sulphur emissions.
New regulations will ensure communities living close to busy shipping routes will enjoy cleaner air and improved health benefits.
The challenges of IMO 2020 enforcement
Monitoring and enforcement of the IMO 2020 sulphur limit ultimately falls to Governments and national authorities of Member States that are parties to MARPOL Annex VI. Furthermore, Flag States of vessels as well as port states also share a responsibility to ensure ship compliance.
Unfortunately, authorities still face many challenges and obstacles that are preventing the maritime industry from achieving full fuel emissions compliance. The large number of vessels entering ports combined with complex itineraries makes it virtually impossible for enforcement authorities to effectively patrol ships using manual operations.
Inefficient sulphur emissions monitoring is resulting in widespread abuse. This is creating an unfair shipping landscape where undetected vessels continue to use non-compliant fuels causing higher pollution levels.
That’s why we created marinehound™. Our innovative technology is designed to be the ultimate solution to tackle all IMO 2020 enforcement issues.