China has hinted at a tighter restriction on the use of open-loop scrubbers within the country’s emission control areas (ECAs) from January.
The Chinese transport ministry’s maritime safety administration has issued a statement calling for industry feedbacks by 22 August on a draft regulation on how to enforce the IMO 2020 rules.
Based on the proposal, the discharge of wash water from open-loop scrubbers will not be allowed for vessels engaged in international shipping within China’s ECAs from 2020.
“We are seeking industry opinions on such a ban so we can enforce the IMO 2020 sulphur rules effectively and reduce air pollutants from vessels,” the statement said.
The Chinese ECAs cover 12 nautical miles from the coastline, Bohai Bay, Yangtze River and Xi River.
Currently, the transport ministry has imposed the discharge ban on open-loop scrubbers in Bohai Bay, Yangtze River, Xi River and Chinese seaports but stopped short of extending it beyond the coastline.
According to the IMO, vessels will need to consume 0.5%-sulphur fuel rather than high-sulphur fuel oil unless they have scrubbers onboard.
Compared with closed-loop scrubbers, which processes more of the wash water onboard, open-loop scrubbers have been more controversial in the industry due to its potential impact on marine environments.
Singapore, Fujairah, Belgium, California and Connecticut in the US have banned open-loop scrubbers as environment concerns grow.
However, this type of exhaust gas cleaning system remains the most popular due to low costs.
According to data from DNV GL, the global orderbook of scrubbers consists of 3,684 units, of them 2,928 are of the open-loop type.
