Navigare 01-19

aktuelt editorial
english translation from page 6
Imposed five sulphur
penalties last year
Since the introduction of the tighter restrictions on sulphur in 2015, the
Norwegian Maritime Authority has imposed a total of 17 penalties for
regulatory violations. The size of the penalties varies from NOK 100 000 to
NOK 600 000, and they have mainly been imposed on foreign ship owners.
In 2018, five cases were finalised. In total, these cases involved penalties
amounting to nearly NOK 2 million.
Kjetil B. Sørensen, Dept. of Regulations and International Agreements, NMA
The first of the cases to be finalised last year
involved a cruise ship registered in the
Bahamas, that had failed to change to lowsulphur
fuel when the vessel was moored in
Geiranger for nearly nine hours in June 2017.
The vessel used fuel with a sulphur content
of 2.52 per cent throughout its stay in
Geiranger. It was equipped with a scrubber
system, but this was not in use in the period
in question.
Geiranger is outside the Emission Control
Area (ECA), and the vessel does not need to
change to fuel with a maximum sulphur
content of 0.10 per cent until it is safely
docked. The owners of the vessel reported the
violation themselves, through their agent.
Shortly after, the Norwegian Maritime
Authority went on board for an unannounced
port state control to obtain verified
information. The shipping line, which is
located in the UK, was fined NOK 300 000.
CAUGHT IN A PORT STATE CONTROL
The next case involved a cargo vessel that
was registered in the Comoros and had been
laid up in Norway for a long period. When
leaving the country in February 2017, the
vessel had an engine breakdown and finally
had to be towed to port. The entire voyage
took place within the ECA. The Norwegian
Maritime Authority boarded the vessel for a
port state control, which also included
collection of a fuel sample.
An analysis of the sample showed that the
fuel had a sulphur content of 0.16 per cent,
clearly above the limit of 0.10 per cent.
Moreover, it was revealed that the vessel had
failed to send out the mandatory AIS signals
during the voyage in question. The shipping
line, which was located in the United Arab
Emirates, was fined NOK 500 000 for these
breaches.
VIOLATING THE REGULATIONS
Moreover, a cargo vessel registered in the Isle
of Man was fined for violation of the sulphur
regulations inside the ECA. The vessel
arrived in Kårstø from Greece in November
2017, having called in at Gent in Belgium on
the way, and the entire voyage through
Norwegian territorial waters was thereby
inside the ECA. The Norwegian Maritime
Authority boarded the vessel and collected a
sample of the fuel in the tanks. The sample
revealed a sulphur content of 0.20 per cent.
The shipping line, which is headquartered in
Greece, was fined a penalty of NOK
300 000. The shipping line appealed the fine,
but the Ministry of Climate and Environment
upheld the decision made by the Norwegian
Maritime Authority.
APPEAL REJECTED
Another case that was finally settled in 2018
involved the penalty that had been imposed
on a Norwegian passenger vessel, which
despite its on-board scrubber system had
been repeatedly registered by the Danish
sulphur sensor on the Storebælt bridge in the
summer of 2016. The Norwegian Maritime
Authority collected material that included log
books from the vessel, and pursuant to the
findings, the Norwegian shipping line was
fined a penalty of NOK 600 000 for the
offence. The shipping line appealed the fine,
but the Ministry of Climate and Environment
upheld the decision made by the Norwegian
Maritime Authority.
INSPECTED AT KÅRSTØ
The last case to be finally settled in 2018 involved
a cargo vessel registered in the Bahamas, which
arrived in Kårstø from Ireland in September 2017.
During an inspection at Kårstø, the sulphur
content of the fuel was measured at 0.139 per cent
with a hand-held device. Laboratory analysis of
the sample showed that the fuel had a sulphur
content of 0.14 per cent. The shipping line, which
is headquartered in Bermuda, was fined a penalty
of NOK 300 000. The shipping line appealed the
fine, but the Ministry of Climate and Environment
upheld the decision made by the Norwegian
Maritime Authority.
56 | Navigare 1 - 2019