ECA GUIDANCE
The aim of the ECA Guidance is to provide guidance to INTERTANKO Members and other interested parties on a number of specific technical, operational, safety and cost-efficiency elements which need to be considered by shipowners when choosing between alternatives for compliance with the Emission Control Area (ECA) regulatory regime under Annex VI of MARPOL 73/78 between 1 January 2015 and the enforcement of a global sulphur cap in 2020 or 2025.
This Guidance is not intended to promote one single route to compliance. The Guidance should be regarded as a means to facilitate shipowners’ decisions on how to comply with the ECA regulatory regime and provide advice on various foreseeable impacts of each of the alternatives to meet ECA emission limits.
The list of items addressed in the Guidance is not exclusive, which means that for each individual ship there might be additional considerations which need to be accounted for in the selection process.
It is strongly advised that the selection process should be done in co-operation with classification societies and equipment manufacturers. Decision-making will however, have to take into consideration the requirements of individual Flag Administrations and Port States, if relevant, as well as each ship’s configuration and trade pattern. A ship’s age may also play a part in the selection of the most adequate alternative for compliance.
ECA Calculator
The ECA Calculator includes an ECA Calculator to assist ship owners to assess the cost efficiency of two alternatives - (a) using 0.10% sulphur content MGO as a fuel or (b) use of scrubbers as EGCS (Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems) - for compliance with the SOx emissions limitations in ECAs between 1 January 2015 and the time when the global cap on sulphur in marine fuels will be enforced (either in 2020 or 2025), particularly on existing ships.
During such a period, some ships may not call at ECA ports. Some other ships may have limited time sailing through ECAs and calling at ECA ports. The ECA calculator provides a rough estimate of the Payback Period in the number of years over which a ship can pay a premium for use of MGO with a sulphur content of 0.10% instead of retrofitting scrubbers. The Payback Period is given at a variety of premium values paid for use of 0.10% MGO and for varying times used by each ship in ECAs as a percentage of the total trading days/year.