Paris and Tokyo inspection groups warn of zero tolerance on IMO 2020 breaches

Port state control organisations step up campaign to remind owners of upcoming HFO carriage ban

The Tokyo and Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on Port State Control have reminded owners to beware of the upcoming heavy fuel oil carriage ban and warned there will be zero tolerance of breaches.

The two organisations said they have been working collaboratively to ensure that ship operators are aware of the new IMO 2020 rules.

Paris MOU secretary general Luc Smulders told TradeWinds he has not yet received detailed information on inspections following the 1 January low-sulphur deadline.

But he added: "As far as I can ascertain, no ships have been detained in the past three weeks for non-compliance with the sulphur requirements."

Letter campaign

The MOUs have been been issuing letters to vessels since the beginning of 2019, to remind them of the new requirements and the date of application.

Awareness among ships’ crew proved to be high, especially with respect to the requirements entering into force on 1 January 2020, they said.

Attention now switches to the ban on carrying non-compliant fuel from 1 March, except on vessels fitted with scrubbers.

"The consensus at [the IMO's] MEPC 73 was that there was no need to request port state control authorities to adopt a ‘practical and pragmatic’ approach as compliance was expected," the MOUs said in a statement.

"Therefore both memoranda have agreed that the requirements in relation to the implementation of the 0.5% sulphur cap will be applied without exception."

The organisations reminded industry players that where compliant fuel cannot be obtained, a fuel oil non-availability report must be submitted to the flag state and the competent authority an the next port of call.