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Regional regulation causes chaos, says ICS

Regional regulation causes chaos, says ICS
International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) chairman Masamichi Morooka stressed the dangers of regional regulation during an address to the Singapore Shipping Association today.

Morooka used the US Coast Guard's ballast water treatment rules and the European Union's emissions Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) regulation as examples of unilateral moves which undermine the IMO and damage the shipping industry.

“The conflicting IMO and US requirements, when combined with the lack of systems fully approved by the United States, could produce an impossible dilemma in which some ships might not be able to operate in US waters if the IMO Convention enters in force before U.S. approved equipment is commercially available.”

Some early adopters of ballast water treatment systems could find themselves needing to replace multi-million dollar systems within five years, if they fail to meet the more stringent US standards.

“This is an example of the very bad situation that can result when nations decide to adopt maritime rules unilaterally.”

EU regulations on MRV include elements that were rejected by a majority of government at IMO, and could influence the progress of discussion that were "progressing well" at an international level, said Morooka. “There is a danger that the EU initiative will be seen by non-EU nations as an attempt to present them with a fait accompli.”

“Global rules for a global shipping industry is not just a slogan,” said Morooka, speaking during Singapore Maritime Week.