What is MARPOL and what does this mean for the freight market? There’s been a lot reported in the press about MARPOL recently. Is it really something to be worried about? A MARPOL regulation, also called Sulphur Directive, is something which European politicians have been pushing for a number of years to clean up the ferry industry. The first steps to introducing the sulphur restrictions in fuel came into force in 1993. But here's a guide on what it means for the freight ferry industry, UK SME's and net exporters contributing to economic prosperity.

1. An interview with Mark Stephens,
Freightlink.co.uk Director
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2. Why an increase?
What is MARPOL and its
impact to the freight market?
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3. There’s been a lot reported in
the press about MARPOL
recently. Is it really something to
be worried about?
Mark: A MARPOL regulation, also called Sulphur Directive, is something
which European politicians have been pushing for a number of years to
clean up the ferry industry. The first steps to introducing the sulphur
restrictions in fuel came in 1993. The amount of information regarding
MARPOL may cause uncertainty and fear among business users of ferry
transportation because of its complicated nature. However, not
everything has been established yet. Most ferry operators still haven’t
announced their plans for the new rules in force from 1st January 2015. A
lot of important information is still to come.
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4. So what exactly is MARPOL?
MS: MARPOL stands for Marine Pollution and is the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. It’s a European
Union and International Maritime Organisation directive requiring ferry
companies to lower the sulphur percentage in fuel from 1%, applicable
at the moment, to 0.1% by 1st January 2015. It’s a bit like being told to
use super unleaded in your car, rather than unleaded. The basic
rationale is to decrease the carbon footprints of ferries, ultimately
aiming to improve air quality in Europe, because ferry engines
contribute to the pollution levels. The regions affected are known as the
Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA). Ferries which operate within
these areas have to make significant changes to their fuel systems in
order to comply with these new regulations.
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5. MS: All of these changes
have an impact on the
ferry companies who
are left with little choice
but to pass the
additional costs onto
their customers.
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6. Which countries and areas will
be affected?
MS: If you draw an imaginary line from Lands End (UK) south to France,
the directive will affect everything east of this, including the English
Channel, North Sea and Baltic Sea regions. From Freightlink’s point of
view this will impact most European countries and many ferry routes.
Is it just the European Union?
MS: Russia also co-signed the bespoke directive as it applies to their
Baltic Sea areas. Similar directives have been introduced by the USA and
Canada. Also, the United Nations are considering expanding Sulphur
Emission Control Areas (SECA) in the future, possibly by 2020. This is still
to be decided.
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7. What are the expected outcomes
of MARPOL?
MS: We are still waiting for ferry operators to declare their intentions.
Firstly, new engines or ships with dedicated technology. Brittany Ferries
have placed an order for a new LNG ferry costing around €270 million.
The second option, which has been popular with ferry companies, is to
fit scrubbers to clean the output gasses, similar to a catalytic converter
to a car.
The final option is to burn cleaner fuel – Marine Gas Oil (MGO) instead
of heavy fuel oil (equivalent of super unleaded for cars) which has a
current cost difference of around $300 per tonne.
The full effects of this directive are yet unknown. DFDS have announced
the closure of the Harwich-Esbjerg route. Several ferry companies have
declared other routes are “at risk”. However, similar to the automobile
industry, it might also trigger the development of new technologies in
fuel production and a new way of ecological thinking about fuel
consumption.
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8. What’s important for companies
using Freightlink, how they will
be affected?
MS: First of all, I would like to assure all customers that we will introduce
only the necessary price changes dictated by freight ferry operators.
This is a whole of the market increase, which will affect both the
passenger and freight markets going forward in 2015 but each operator
will calculate their additional charges differently. In the end the whole
freight industry will be affected at some point. We will make sure our
customers are kept up to date with every change as soon as we are
aware of it.
Click on the LINK to see the MARPOL infographic in full.
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