In the recently concluded IMO MEPC74 meeting held in London last month, the IMO has shared some valuable guidelines on fuel oil non-availability. Here’s a first-hand report of that.
Guidance on fuel oil non-availability
- Regulation 18.2.1 of MARPOL Annex VI provides that in the event compliant fuel oil
cannot be obtained, a Party to MARPOL Annex VI can request evidence outlining the attempts made to obtain the compliant fuel oil, including attempts made to local alternative sources. - Regulations 18.2.4 and 18.2.5 then require that the ship notifies its Administration and the competent authority of the port of destination on the inability to obtain compliant fuel oil, with the Party to notify IMO of the non-availability. This notification is commonly referred to as a Fuel Oil Non-Availability Report (FONAR).
Guidance on consistent evidence
Regulation 18.2.1.2 of MARPOL Annex VI requires that evidence be provided to
support a claim that all efforts were made to obtain compliant fuel oil. In this regard, a Party may develop more detailed guidance for the consistent use and acceptance of these reports, including what evidence is needed to accompany a report to ensure that port States are applying the provisions under regulation 18.2.3, consistently.
Should a ship, despite its best effort to obtain compliant fuel oil, be unable to do so,
the master/company must:
- present a record of actions taken to attempt to bunker correct fuel oil and provide evidence of an attempt to purchase compliant fuel oil in accordance with its voyage plan and, if it was not made available where planned, that attempts were made to locate alternative sources for such fuel oil and that despite best efforts to obtain compliant fuel oil, no such fuel oil was made available for purchase; and
- best efforts to procure compliant fuel oil include, but are not limited to, investigating alternate sources of fuel oil prior to commencing the voyage. If, despite best efforts, it was not possible to procure compliant fuel oil, the master/Company must immediately notify the port State Administration in the port of arrival and the flag Administration (regulation 18.2.4 of MARPOL Annex VI).
In order to minimize disruption to commerce and avoid delays, the master/company
should submit a FONAR as soon as it is determined or becomes aware that it will not be able to procure and use compliant fuel oil.
Investigating non-availability
A Party should investigate the reports of non-availability. This process is important to
ensure a consistent supply of compliant fuel to industry, as well as prevent incentives for ships to use ports where it is known that compliant fuel is not available on an ongoing basis. Critical to this process will be the sharing of information between Member States on reported compliant fuel oil supply issues.
Regulation 18.2.5 of MARPOL Annex VI provides that a Party to MARPOL Annex VI
notify the Organization when a ship has presented evidence of the non-availability of compliant fuel oil in a port or at their terminal. For this purpose, MARPOL Annex VI GISIS module provides the platform for Parties to upload such notifications.
Regulation 18.1 of MARPOL Annex VI provides that each Party take all reasonable
steps to promote the availability of above compliant fuel oil and inform the Organization through MARPOL Annex VI GISIS module of the availability of compliant fuel oils in its ports and terminals.
Port State control authority may contact the submitter (and/or shipowner or operator),
including in the event of an incomplete submission, and request additional information, or to pursue an enforcement action such as a Notice of Violation.
Standard format for reporting fuel oil non-availability
For ships which are unable to purchase fuel oil meeting the requirements of
regulations 14.1 or 14.4 of MARPOL Annex VI, the standard format for reporting fuel oil
non-availability is set out in appendix 1 to this document, pursuant to regulation 18.2.4 of
MARPOL Annex VI.
Possible safety implications
MEPC 73 (October 2018) approved MEPC.1/Circ.878 on Guidance on the development of a ship implementation plan for the consistent implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI (hereafter the “Ship Implementation Plan Guidance”) addresses some safety issues identified with regard to 0.50% maximum sulphur fuel oil, in particular through the section on risk assessment (section 1 of the Ship Implementation Plan
Guidance) and additional guidance provided on impact on machinery systems and tank
cleaning (appendix 2 and appendix 3 of the Ship Implementation Plan Guidance, respectively).
Identified potential safety implications include, but are not limited to, the following:
- stability of blended fuel oil;
- compatibility, including new tests and metrics appropriate for future fuels;
- cold flow properties;
- acid number;
- flash point;
- ignition and combustion quality;
- cat fines;
- low viscosity; and
- unusual components.
Additional technical information and a review, displayed in tabular format, of the
possible potential safety implications is set out in appendix 2.
Reference should also be made to general industry guidance on potential safety and
operational issues related to the supply and use of 0.50% maximum sulphur fuels.
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Source: MEPC.320(74)
