The topic of sulphur emissions regulations in the shipping industry will be widely covered through a number of conference sessions at RORO 2014, from 24-26 June at ExCel in London. A conference session titled ‘Sulphur regulation - fair competition and enforcement’ will be presented by Roger Strevens, VP Environment for Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), Molokini Marketing reports.
“The sulphur emissions situation is endlessly discussed in the media but the real issue, as I see it, is the enforcement of it” explains Roger Strevens. “Within the European ECA, the level of compliance testing is very low. In addition, the compliance costs are heavier than the fines. What this creates is a temptation to not comply and that can put companies who do comply (such as WWL) at a significant competitive disadvantage.”
WWL has set up the Trident Alliance initiative, a group of like-minded shipping companies pushing “officialdom” for more robust enforcement of the regulations, which Roger Strevens will discuss at RORO 2014. “Increasingly, enforcement, rather than regulation, is the driver of change” adds Roger.
The trends and outlook for the UK Short Sea market will be the topic of a conference session presented by Peter Baker, Managing Director, PRB Associates, on Day One. In addition to reviewing service and capacity developments, the session will include perspectives on the new sulphur emissions regulations and views on future supply and demand.
PRB Associates produces an independent annual report that analyses and assesses the UK’s Short Sea RoRo and LoLo freight market, in terms of route, service and port capacity. “We speak to operators, ports and associated businesses to confirm exactly how market capacity is developing” explains Peter Baker. “Channel ports and the Channel Tunnel are currently handling increasing levels of capacity at the expense of longer routes to the continent, and the new low sulphur fuel legislation add to the pricing advantage for shorter routes over longer routes – the trend is likely to run counter to any other initiatives to take lorries off the roads and onto ferries on the North Sea.”
Managing Director of Mann Lines Limited, Bill Binks, will present a conference session from the perspective of a shipping line, looking at the current RORO Market. The market area served by Mann Lines Limited includes the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
“The Baltic Sea market has seen a significant improvement since the economic crisis, but remains difficult with excess capacity and competition keeping low prices, together with a gradual increase in costs. The big challenge being faced now, though, will be the introduction of the SECA (Sulphur Emission Control Areas) Emissions Regulations next year, which will result in larger cost increases” explains Bill Binks. “Finland is a big region that we serve, for example, and its economy is very flat at the moment - the country is not experiencing the same growth as that reported in the UK and emissions regulations will make this situation even more challenging.”
RORO 2014 is a free-to-attend three day exhibition and conference providing logistics professionals involved in roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping with the opportunity to meet, network and do business. The RORO conference takes place within the exhibition hall and the sessions will provide a comprehensive understanding of the RoRo transport issues currently being faced. For the first time, RORO 2014 will be co-located with TOC Europe and the Port Centric Logistics (PCL) exhibition, bringing even more benefit to visiting logistics and shipping professionals.