EU Sulphur Directive entered into force

An amendment to the EU Sulphur Directive 2005/33/EC entered into force in the beginning of 2010. The provisions stipulate that ships berthed on quays in EU ports for more than two hours are not permitted to use fuels with a sulphur content exceeding 0.1% or the ship must be connected to shore-side electricity. A ship at berth refers to a vessel which is appropriately secured or anchored at the port for loading or unloading or while waiting at the port. The technical reforms required in order to safely perform the fuel replacement have not yet been completed in all the ships arriving at member state ports. The ships are granted a transition period to complete the technical reforms.

Supervision of the fuels used in ships has always been in the sphere of responsibility of the maritime administration. The Finnish transportation agencies underwent an organisational change in the beginning of 2010, after which the Maritime Sector of the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (TraFi) became the supervisory authority in charge of the task. The agency has initiated a planning and implementation project for the supervision policies observed in Finland.

The Port of Helsinki is not the supervisory authority responsible for this matter despite the fact that the provisions of the Sulphur Directive are recorded in the environmental licences of the Port.

For more information: www.trafi.fi