News / Changes to new IMO Cll rules unlikely, despite industry misgivings

Despite widespread unpopularity and criticism, it is unlikely any revision will be made to the International Maritime Organization’s Carbon Intensity Index (CII) at next week’s MEPC 80, an IMO source has told The Loadstar.

Issues to be discussed by the Marine Environment Protection Committee include underwater noise, designation of particularly sensitive sea areas for wildlife protection and progress on IMO adoption of a revised GHG strategy.

This new strategy will incorporate a regulatory roadmap for the adoption of new zero-carbon fuels like ammonia, as well as “mid- and long-term measures” to incentivise decarbonisation.

A “review of the short-term measure” is also on the agenda, as proposals abound over how to improve the legislation. For example, the World Shipping Council (WSC) is proposing CII uses teu-miles, instead of weight, to determine its calculations.

It said: “Any attempt to agree an average assumed weight would be just that – an assumption – and inherently inaccurate. Typical container weights vary greatly, and even when averaged, vary between routes with some trades having a higher percentage of heavy or light containers than others.”

China wants modification of fuel consumption data entered into IMO’s global ship fuel oil consumption database “before 30 June each year” to “avoid input errors”. European countries, including EU member states, are calling for that data to be made more widely available to increase scrutiny on the shipping industry, and allow “administrations, port authorities and other stakeholders… to provide incentives to ships rated A or B”.

Meanwhile, the International Chamber of Shipping, along with India, Norway and Liberia, has submitted a draft resolution to re-designate any biofuel “certified as a sustainable fuel as per the LCA guidelines” to be automatically zero-carbon rated under CII.

However, IMO spokesperson Natasha Brown told The Loadstar a major overhaul was extremely unlikely, explaining: “How can you change something which has not even been implemented for a year? We have not even had the first round of reporting yet.”

She added: “Next week is about how are we going to make sure we review [the CII] effectively, so that we do take onboard whatever the experience is in this first year of operation – and the second and third; then you have good data on which to make changes.”