News
Vietnam will ban using marine fuel with high sulphur content in the main ocean transport routes to and from the country, as part of its policy to embrace environmentalism.
Starting from January 2016, ship operators will be required to use low-diesel fuel with the sulphur level of 0.25% or below.
Under MARPOL Annex VI for SOx, ships trading in designated emission control areas will have to use fuel oil on board with a sulphur content of no more than 0.10% from 1 January 2015. The emission control areas are: the Baltic Sea area; the North Sea area; the North American area (covering designated coastal areas off the United States and Canada); and the United States Caribbean Sea area (around Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands).
Outside the emission control areas, the current limit for sulphur content of fuel oil is 3.50%, falling to 0.50% m/m on and after January 1, 2020. The 2020 date is subject to a review, to be completed by 2018, as to the availability of the required fuel oil. Depending on the outcome of the review, this date could be deferred to January 1, 2025.
