Fuels — reducing sulphur content

SUMMARY OF:

Directive (EU) 2016/802 — reducing the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

• It codifies and repeals Council Directive 1999/32/EC — the existing European Union (EU) legislation — which had been substantially amended several times.
• It aims to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide that result from burning certain types of liquid fuels.
• It should therefore reduce the harmful effects of these emissions on health and the environment, which could exceed those from all land-based sources in the EU by 2020.

KEY POINTS

The directive lays down the maximum permitted sulphur content of:

• heavy fuel oil,
• gas oil,
• marine gas oil; and
• marine diesel oil.

Heavy fuel oil and gas oil

• EU countries have to prohibit the use, in their territories, of:
  • heavy fuel oils if their sulphur content exceeds 1% by mass;
  • gas oils if their sulphur content exceeds 0.1% by mass.

Marine fuels

• The directive incorporates the main changes in international law on preventing air pollution from ships. It incorporates into EU law the revised Annex VI to International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (known as MARPOL) as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating to it, which entered into force on 1 July 2010.
• Annex VI to MARPOL introduces stricter sulphur limits for marine fuel in sulphur oxide emission control areas (SOx-ECAS) which, in the EU, are found in the Baltic and North Seas and the English Channel. These limits are fixed at 1% as of 1 July 2010 and 0.1% as of 1 January 2015. Higher sulphur contents are still possible, but only if sustainable exhaust cleaning systems are installed on board.
• Since 1 January 2012, in sea areas outside SOx-ECAs, the sulphur limits are 3.5 % and will fall to 0.5 % as of 1 January 2020. The same requirement, also called the global sulphur cap, will also enter into force at international level as decided in October 2016 by the International Maritime Organisation. This landmark decision will significantly reduce the impact of ship emissions on human health and ensure a global level playing field for ship operators.
• EU countries may permit the use of emission abatement methods* that can provide emission reductions at least equivalent to, or even greater than, reduction achievable using low-sulphur fuel, provided that:
  • they have no significant negative impacts on the environment, such as marine ecosystems; and
  • they are developed subject to appropriate approval and control mechanisms.

Implementation

• To ensure the directive is correctly implemented, EU countries must:
  • ensure frequent and accurate sampling of marine fuel placed on the market or used on board ship, as well as regular verification of ships’ logbooks and bunker delivery notes*;
  • introduce penalties that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive to deal with non-compliance.
• In 2013, technical work started under the European Sustainable Shipping Forum to discuss coordinated strategies to ensure the cost-effective implementation of Directive 2012/33/EU (which amended Directive 1992/32/EC and sought to substantially reduce emissions from shipping due to the combustion of marine fuels). The forum involved the EU countries, the maritime industry and technical assistance from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
• On the basis of that work, Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/253 was adopted. It introduced more inspections in ports of documents and fuel sampling, as well as streamlining the related reporting requirements for the EU countries. It also launched the EU’s information system (Thetis-EU), developed by EMSA for use on a voluntary basis, which allows authorities to share the daily outcomes of sulphur-in-fuel inspections on individual ships.

Scientific and technical progress

To keep up with scientific and technical progress, having consulted a committee of EU countries’ representatives, the European Commission has the right to adopt delegated acts to amend the equivalent emission values for, and the criteria for the use of, emission abatement methods.

FROM WHEN DOES THE DIRECTIVE APPLY?

Directive (EU) 2016/802 is the codified version of Council Directive 1999/32/EC and its subsequent amendments. It has applied since 10 June 2016.

BACKGROUND

• Emissions of air pollutants like sulphur dioxide can travel long distances and, in recent years, emissions from maritime transport have increasingly affected air quality in the EU.
• Sulphur dioxide emissions cause acid rain and generate fine dust. This dust is dangerous for human health, causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and reducing life expectancy in the EU by up to 2 years.

* KEY TERMS

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive (EU) 2016/802 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels (codification) (OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, pp. 58–78)

last update 27.02.2017