Ships and mobile offshore units

Proposed Regulation concerning amendments to Regulations of environmental safety for ships and mobile offshore units.

The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) refers to the consultation on the proposed Regulation concerning amendments to the Regulations on environmental safety for ships and mobile offshore units which was sent for review on 4 June 2018 (2018/9007/N).

We have received several consultative statements, and looking through these has made us conclude that there is a need for some new changes. The proposed amendments will be circulated for review, and since the background is known, the deadline is set to six weeks.

We are proposing that fuel being used when the ship is in the world heritage fjords must have a sulphur content of maximum 0.10% by weight. Furthermore, the proposed amendments include a prohibition against the use of exhaust gas cleaning systems in the world heritage fjords. The prohibition against the use of exhaust gas cleaning systems applies to both open, closed and hybrid systems. We are also proposing a prohibition against incineration of waste on board ships in the world heritage fjords. Moreover, we are proposing that the NMA, upon written application from a company, may grant exemption for a ship from the Tier I requirements set out in MARPOL regulation VI/13, if it can be documented that the ship will comply with the Tier III requirements not later than 1 January 2022.