In a nutshell, how would you describe the main role of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)?
The MEPC addresses a wide range of environmental issues that fall under IMO’s remit. This includes the control and prevention of ship-source pollution covered by the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) treaty, including oil, chemicals carried in bulk, sewage, garbage and emissions from ships, including air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Other matters covered include ballast water management, anti-fouling systems, ship recycling, pollution preparedness and response, identification of special areas, emission control areas and particularly sensitive sea areas.
The Committee provides a global forum for all maritime stakeholders to come together, including governments, other agencies within the United Nations (UN) family – like United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and The International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs).
It is the 175 IMO Member states who make decisions – since IMO regulates through international treaties (like MARPOL) to which the Member States are parties – but the valuable input from NGOs and IGOs informs the debates and discussions. There are some 80 NGOs in consultative status – from environmental organisations to shipping industry representatives and seafarer bodies.
What is the biggest challenge facing the MEPC today?
Of all the items on the MEPC agenda, it must be said that the decarbonization of international shipping is the biggest challenge.
IMO demonstrated its unique role as a global regulator by bringing all its Member States behind the Initial IMO Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Strategy, which was adopted in 2018 and its vision is to phase out GHG emissions from international shipping. IMO’s Initial Greenhouse Gas Strategy has prompted an immense number of shipping decarbonisation initiatives around the world.
Since then, IMO members have been working very hard on defining concrete measures that apply to the global fleet and will ensure achieving the agreed levels set out in the Initial IMO GHG Strategy. This includes the new mandatory measures, which entered into force just a few weeks ago, providing important new tools to regulate a ship’s energy efficiency performance, the so-called “EEXI”, “CII rating”, and the revised “SEEMP”.
In view of the global climate urgency, the Member States are now working towards adopting the revised IMO GHG Strategy with strengthened greenhouse gas reduction targets at MEPC 80 in July 2023.
All eyes will be on IMO. Yet the MEPC has a long history, since its formation and institutionalisation within IMO some 50 years ago, of reaching consensus and achieving good outcomes in providing a global set of rules for a global industry facing a global challenge like climate change.
What is your view on private sector initiatives such as the Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance?
All private sector initiatives which support the goals and aims of IMO are welcomed.
Decarbonising international shipping requires the involvement and commitment of all stakeholders across the maritime value chain, ranging from the energy sector to ports and the financial sector, including banks and insurers.
This will become even more important to ensure that shipping will have global access to affordable and safe alternative low-carbon marine fuels.
IMO’s new energy efficiency (CII) rating provides a transparent tool that will facilitate bringing the decarbonization of shipping to corporate boardrooms, especially in those companies whose own ESG agenda includes reducing the carbon footprint of their overall transport/logistics chain.
What are the lessons drawn from the introduction of the IMO 2020 low Sulphur limit?
This is a success story. Following IMO’s decision, from 1 January 2020, we saw the implementation of a globally binding limit of 0.50% sulphur content in the fuel oil used on board ships worldwide, a significant reduction from the previous limit of 3.5%.
Recent satellite images from NASA clearly show how air pollution across the main shipping lanes around the world has been significantly cut since IMO 2020, demonstrating the impact of IMO’s global ruleset.
A great amount of preparatory work was undertaken by IMO and industry stakeholders to ensure the fuel changeover went smoothly. IMO issued a series of guidelines to help the shipping sector and its Member States to prepare, including ship implementation planning guidelines (addressing issues such as risk assessment for new fuels and tank cleaning) and port State control guidelines.
There was some trepidation in the lead-up to IMO 2020 entering into force with predictions of huge disruption and impacts to shippers, customers and producers of diesel fuel. However, the final implementation of IMO 2020 resulted in very few fuel-oil non-availability reports (FONARs) and even fewer non-compliance cases reported.
The lesson from this is that with extensive planning and preparation, major change can occur which has significant benefit to humans – without distorting world trade.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing in the shipping industry, what would it be?
Switch all ships to zero-carbon fuels. Of course, this is a big ask and a challenge – but this transition offers great opportunities too.
Very recently, during COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, IMO organised an event specifically focused on the great potential of renewable energy production, notably in those countries which have abundant
access to renewable energy sources, like solar, wind and tide or geothermal.
Shipping has a vital role to play in the global energy transition, facilitating trade in the world’s future energy carriers. This will bring great opportunities for many IMO Member States, and it is our role to explore and support those.
If you were not in your current role what would your ideal job be?
I am a lawyer by training but have always wanted to be a jet pilot (have you seen the latest Top Gun movie?). I equally love planes as I like ships.
But perhaps more realistically, a commodity trader. As IMO is accelerating its discussions on economic measures and possible carbon pricing of maritime transport, the relation between global regulations, freight rate fluctuations and commodity trading has really triggered my fascination.
What do you like doing when not working?
I love going to the beach in every season of the year. One of our favourite beaches is on the English south coast in West Sussex. It is not only a lovely sandy beach and a beautiful estuary but also a perfect place for spotting ships sailing to the port of Southampton. I regularly bore my family with unwanted information about the IMO number, flag and last port of call of the ships coming around the Isle of Wright on the basis of my AIS tracking app.
I miss being able to go sailing back home in Zeeland in the Netherlands more often. It’s a beautiful region, and nothing is more relaxing than a day on the water with family and friends.
