MEMBER ALERT Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Manager One Battery Park Plaza 31 st Fl., New York, NY 10004 USA Tel: +1 212 847 4500 Fax: +1 212 847 4599 www.american-club.com American Club Member Alert – April 1 6, 201 9 1 APRIL 16, 2019 IMO GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR COMPLIANCE WITH 0.50% SULFUR LIMIT UNDER MARPOL ANNEX VI Your Managers would like to draw your attention to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) guidance as set forth in the annex to the attached document MEPC.1/Circ.878, Guidance on the Development of a Ship Implementation Plan for the Consistent Implementation of the 0.50% Sulphur Limit Under MARPOL Annex VI. While there currently is no mandatory requirement to have an implementation plan, Port State Control authorities may likely take the status of any plan—or lack thereof—into consideration when verifying compliance after January 1, 2020. It is therefore recommended that vessels have one in place, based on the template recommended in the Guidance. In light of these developments, surveyors who are performing condition surveys will be instructed to determination the status of the ship’s implementation plan in preparation for the implementation date of January 1, 2020. I:\CIRC\MEPC\01\MEPC.1-CIRC.878.docx E 4 ALBERT EMBANKMENT LONDON SE1 7SR Telephone: +44 (0)20 7735 7611 Fax: +44 (0)20 7587 3210 MEPC.1/Circ.878 9 November 2018 GUIDANCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SHIP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 0.50% SULPHUR LIMIT UNDER MARPOL ANNEX VI 1 The Marine Environment Protection Committee, at its seventy-third session (22 to 26 October 2018), approved the Guidance on the development of a ship implementation plan for the consistent implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI, as set out in the annex. 2 Member Governments are invited to bring the annexed Guidance to the attention of their Administration, industry, relevant shipping organizations, shipping companies and other stakeholders concerned. *** MEPC.1/Circ.878 Annex, page 1 I:\CIRC\MEPC\01\MEPC.1-CIRC.878.docx ANNEX GUIDANCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SHIP IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 0.50% SULPHUR LIMIT UNDER MARPOL ANNEX VI Introduction 1 MEPC 70 agreed to "1 January 2020" as the effective date of implementation for ships to comply with global 0.50% m/m sulphur content of fuel oil requirement and adopted resolution MEPC.280(70) on the Effective date of implementation of the fuel oil standard in regulation 14.1.3 of MARPOL Annex VI 1 . 2 In this context, MEPC 73 agreed that Administrations should encourage ships flying their flag to develop implementation plans, outlining how the ship may prepare in order to comply with the required sulphur content limit of 0.50% by 1 January 2020. The plan could be complemented with a record of actions taken by the ship in order to be compliant by the applicable date. 3 Regulation 18.2.3 of MARPOL Annex VI requires a Party to take into account all relevant circumstances and the evidence presented to determine the action to take, including not taking control measures. Administrations and port State control authorities may take into account the implementation plan when verifying compliance with the 0.50% sulphur limit requirement. 4 A ship implementation plan is not a mandatory requirement. A lack of a ship implementation plan or an incomplete ship implementation plan should not be considered as "clear grounds" for a more detailed inspection. Sh