The Minister for the Environment and also Natural Resources has actually provided a law tightening up gas needs, which efficiently outlaws using hefty gas oil in the territorial sea of Iceland.

The policy is planned to advertise enhanced air high quality in harbours and also seaside locations and also adapts with the federal government’s union contract and also environment activity strategy.

The adjustment is produced by a modification to the policy on sulphur web content of specific fluid gas. The allowable sulphur web content of aquatic gas utilized in the territorial sea and also inner waters of Iceland will certainly be decreased from 3.5% to 0.1% on January 1, 2020.

Image Credits: government.is

This will certainly make needs for the sulphur web content of aquatic gas in the territorial seas of Iceland similar with those that are presently basically in Emission Control Areas as specified by Annex VI of MARPOL, where specifically stringent needs use.

In enhancement, on January 1 2020, the allowable sulphur web content of aquatic gas will certainly be decreased to 0.5% within the Icelandic Pollution Prevention Zone however beyond the territorial sea. This remains in consistency with the needs ofRegulation No 124/2015 on the sulphur web content on specific fluid gas and also Iceland’s global commitments according to Annex VI of the MARPOL convention which Iceland validated in February 2018.

This will certainly make the allowable sulphur web content in aquatic gas in Iceland 0.1% in the territorial sea and also inner waters, i.e. additionally in arms and also bays. Further bent on sea and also beyond territorial waters, the sulphur web content can not go beyond 0.5%. Heavy gas oil has a greater sulphur web content than this for the most part, and also hence the policy efficiently brings a stop to using hefty gas oil aroundIceland For contrast, the sulphur web content of hefty gas oil marketed in Iceland in 2017 varied from 0.64%– 1.94% however the worldwide ordinary according to information from the IMO was 2.59%.

Vessels can, nevertheless, remain to melt hefty gas oil if they utilize authorized discharge reduction techniques to minimize the launch of sulphur dioxide, which protects against most sulphur discharges right into the environment together with residue air pollution.

A draft policy was presented previously this year and also appointments were accepted stakeholders and also interested celebrations prior to its fostering.