CCS responds to green ship trend with revamped guidelines

The ‘Rules for Green Eco-ships’ will replace the class society’s existing ‘Rules for Green Ships’ from July next year, CCS principle Wang Huifang announced at Marintec China 2019 in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Wang outlined that a key change to the guidelines is a broad categorisation into environmental protection and eco-system protection.

“In coming up with the revamped guidelines, we draw on nationwide information and data collected from Chinese-built vessels for both domestic and international trades,” she said.

The eco-system protection category will deal mainly with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ballast water management and treatment, and noise, vibration and temperature impact for both the crew and the ocean eco-system.

The environmental protection category, on the other hand, will focus on waste water discharge, harmful air emissions from the burning of bunkers including particulate matter (PM) emission and even methane slip from the use of LNG as fuel.

“Broadly speaking, the environmental protection guide has a strong focus on controlling CO2/GHG emissions,” Wang said.

She added that CCS believes there is urgency for the shipping industry to respond to the environmental agenda that is rising in importance, noting the upcoming IMO 2020 low sulphur regulation and the not too far off IMO GHG reduction targets in 2030, and then further out in 2050.