Belgium, a pioneer in the fight against sulphur emissions from marine vessels
This is an area of the law that is primarily governed by international regulations. Marine fuels contain 3,000 times more sulphur than those used for road vehicles. The Marpol (Marine pollution) convention, a product of the IMO (International Maritime Organization), established geographical areas in which sulphur emissions are regulated (Sulphur Emissions Control Areas, SECAs). As a result, since 1 January, in the English Channel, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and nearly all of the United States’ and Canada's coastal regions, ships can no longer use fuel containing more than 0.1% sulphur.
In 2016, the Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM) of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, purchased an "electronic sniffer" for its surveillance aircraft. This new instrument can measure the sulphur emissions of marine traffic from the air. From August to November 2016, the MUMM analysed the sulphur emissions of nearly 1,300 seafaring vessels as part of a European pilot study known as CompMon. This study revealed that sulphur emissions exceeded acceptable rates in nearly 10% of cases (120 ships). Each suspicious incident was systematically reported to the maritime inspection department of the FPS Mobility and Transport for additional port inspections while docked and for coordination with other European port inspection services.
Following the remarkable results of sulphur emissions inspections in Belgium, the decision was made to submit a formal international application to begin a sulphur emissions inspection programme covering the entire North Sea and coordinated by the Bonn Agreement of May 2017. Through these international efforts, our country is now playing a vital and visible role in this field.
For further information:
https://www.trafi.fi/filebank/a/1482762219/4ba0baf93df900f6ac151919f527e2bc/23540-Results_Belgian_Sniffer_Campagin_2016-consealed.pdf