Shenzhen announces rebates for low-sulfur port users The Shenzhen government could pay nearly all of the extra costs associated with switching to low-sulfur fuel while at berth in the city’s port as a result of a new government-sanctioned program. Officials in Shenzhen announced a plan to spend 200 million yuan ($32.6 million) a year on cash rebates for carriers who switch to low-sulfur fuel while at berth, the South China Morning Post reported. The subsidies will cover between 75 and 100 percent of all costs. We are learning from the experiences in Hong Kong, where companies have volunteered to switch to low-sulfur fuel and the government provides subsidies for extra costs incurred, Dong Yanze, director of the construction management office of Shenzhens transport commission, was quoted as saying. Twenty-three shipping companies signed a joint Green Shenzhen declaration on Oct. 3. The subsidies will begin next month and last for three years. While open-ocean steaming with high-sulfur fuel is still widely accepted, countries around the world are taking steps to minimize the impact of fuel burn off as ships get closer to land. As of Jan. 1, Emission Control Areas in the Baltic Sea, the English Channel and the North Sea, along 200 nautical miles from the American and Canadian coasts will go into effect. Those control areas will require ships to switch to fuel with a sulfur content of 0.1 percent. Maersk Line said its annual fuel bill will increase by $200 million per year. Shenzhen, like Hong Kong, is making the shift optional for now. Hong Kong initially announced their plan in 2011, but didn’t pay its first subsidy out until September 2013. Shenzhen officials said it hoped efforts would be noticed by the Chinese central government and become a nationwide policy. The South China Morning Post reported cargo ships contribute to 66 percent of sulphur dioxide emissions in Shenzhen. In Hong Kong, the proportion is 78 percent. The country is also considering emission control areas of their own, according to the newspaper. New global standards call for all marine diesel fuels to be subject to a 0.5 percent sulfur limit as early as 2020, pending completion of a review on the availability of the low-sulfur fuel. The review should be completed by the International Maritime Organization by 2018, and could cost the container shipping industry up to $100 billion per year. Share JOC NEWS - OCT 5 2014
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 00:12:27 +0000
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