Guido Harling, lead verifier & md of ETS Verification GmbH told delegates at yesterday’s gmec conference at SMM that ship operators should understand MRV is happening and not to underestimate the complexity of reporting requirements.
The MRV regulations set out a procedure for measuring carbon dioxide emissions by monitoring bunker consumption. But the timeline is challenging. Harling explained that all ships needing to comply with the regulations will require emissions to be monitored, verified by an independently certificated body and with a document of compliance issued by August 2019. However, ship-specific MRV plans approved by accredited verifiers will first have to be in place by the end of August 2017 ready to be implemented from January 2018.
Lloyd’s Register has previously estimated the number of vessels at about 15,000 but Kathrin Palmer, environmental manager at the class society, said recently that many ship operators have not even started to make the necessary arrangements. Ships without appropriate documents of compliance in place by the deadline will only be allowed to call in EU ports once, following a second reporting period running up to August 2019.
The EU regulations are ship-specific and significantly tighter than those being prepared by the IMO. There will be scope to “name and shame” ships which do not comply. In contrast, the IMO regulations will be implemented and overseen by flag states.
There are unlikely to be any approved and accredited verifiers available to validate MRV plans before January 2017, leaving just a few months for ship operators to draw up their plans and get them provisionally approved. When documents of compliance have been issued, ships will have to prove continuing compliance on an annual basis.
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