IBIA finds preliminary results in Canada’s ECA fuel testing program to be compliant
Transport Canada has already initiated conducting sulphur tests on “a number of samples” taken from vessels calling upon the various ports in the country since the commencement of the program to verify whether they are complying with the 0.10% sulphur limit set forth in the North American Emission Control Area (NA-ECA).
An official with Transport Canada has told IBIA that the sulphur content of all the collected samples have been verified by a recognized laboratory and have found to be compliant with the rules set forth by the commission.
Marine Safety Inspectors initiated the checking of ECA procedure compliance through on-site fuel sampling and testing on 22 August by using portable fuel analysers onboard the vessels.
The port official also states, as of now no portable sulphur analysers are available to the inspectors in all ports, but Transport Canada is trying to cover as many ports as possible to roll out the program across various ports in the country. Portable sulphur analysers can be used to assess primary compliance, with inspectors sending samples to an accredited laboratory for confirmation. Presently, all the analyser tests are being followed up with a sample tested at an accredited laboratory.
She confirmed that inspections will be directed at ships entering the Canadian ports. If samples are found to be non-compliant at an accredited laboratory, any prosecution action would be “dependent on the circumstance and the decision of the Marine Safety Inspector”.
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Source: IBIA
