Last week, TradeWinds reported heavy fines for three operators for violation of environmental regulations in the waters off California. The vessels are charged with failing to consume low sulphur fuel in a prescribed area. The operators are reported to have paid fines of US$500,000 in total.
The action causes us to reflect on whether regulation drives technological innovation or whether it is more accurate to say that the driver is actually enforcement.
We at Oceanox clearly take no pleasure in seeing ship operators fined. It is however true to say that consistent and thorough enforcement is vital in both achieving the environmental objectives set by the regulators and driving demand for technical alternatives to low sulphur fuels. The proactive and innovative approach taken by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforcement of sulphur in fuels legislation is to be applauded. It includes such things as aircraft which can detect funnel emissions from an over flight of a vessel at sea. Without such proactive enforcement, compliant operators would be at a competitive disadvantage and the technological alternatives to compliant fuel would be hampered in developing their markets.
Ship owners want regulatory and enforcement certainty to enable them to make informed decisions on the optimal means of compliance. High costs of compliant distillate fuels and heavy fines for non-compliance are likely to drive innovation in technical solution such as sea water scrubbing.