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Nordic shipper vows to slash emissions amid tough new China fuel standards

By Peng Yining and Zheng Jinran (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2016-05-19 16:26

While China launched tough fuel standards for large ships in an effort to slash marine emissions, a Nordic company vowed on Thursday in Beijing to limit sulfur emissions to less than 0.1 percent while at berth in Chinese ports and globally.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, the global shipping and logistics company based in Norway, launched a new company policy which prescribes that all vessels are to operate with fuel of less than 0.1 percent sulfur or equivalent at berth, in all ports across the globe.

Anna Larsson, WWL's global head of sustainability, said China's importance to global shipping is without question — most of the world's busiest ports are located in China, and shipping activity is expected to increase dramatically as the country rolls out the Belt and Road Initiative.

It is in recognition of the country's importance to global shipping that WWL has chosen China as the location to make the announcement, she said. "Moreover, this year marks the 20th anniversary of WWL receiving its shipping license from Chinese authorities," said Larsson.

In 2015, China finalized a plan requiring ships to use fuel with sulfur content of lower than or equal to 0.5 percent while at berth in core ports. Three emission control zones have been established in China's Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas and the Bohai Sea area, and the plan will first be implemented in these zones. Eleven ports in the zones, including Shanghai's and Tianjin's ports, have become core ports under stricter monitoring.

When fully implemented, the coordinated effort aims to reduce oxysulfide emissions from ships by 65 percent and particulate emissions by 30 percent by 2020, compared with current emissions, Li Qingping, a senior official at the Transport Ministry's Maritime Safety Administration, told a news conference in Beijing.

Dong Leyi, director of the division of dangerous goods control and pollution prevention of the Maritime Safety Administration, said that around Dec 31, 2019, China will introduce stricter rules on marine emissions, including reducing the standard of sulfur content to 0.1 percent and expanding the control zone.

He said ships with foreign flags will also have to follow the rule, adding that the ministry is working on an English-language document on the policy.

"I am glad to see WWL ahead of the curve in curbing ship emissions," Dong said during the WWL event revealing the new policy. "I hope more countries join the club."

China now has the laws, the regulations, the capacity and the will to be a champion in the ongoing fight against pollution from ships, said Barbara Finamore, senior attorney and Asia director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-government organization on environmental protection.

"As the country becomes more adept at enforcing existing regulations to control air pollution and create a level playing field for the industry, it can continue to grow its economy without sacrificing environmental quality," she said.

Xavier Leroi, head of WWL China, added: "China far surpassed its sulfur emissions reduction target under the 12th Five-Year Plan and it has proposed a very ambitious target under the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). WWL is honored to have the opportunity to work with Chinese authorities and industry and play a part in helping achieve this target."

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