Indonesia to Delay Sulphur Cap Implementation in Its Waters

Indonesia would not switch to low-sulphur fuel from January 1, 2020, due to abundant supplies of 3.5% sulphur content fuel, Reuters said citing the country’s transport ministry.

Namely, the authorities plan to allow Indonesia-flagged ships to continue burning marine fuels with a maximum 3.5% sulphur content in its territorial waters past 2020 without having to use scrubbers.

The officials elaborated the decision by saying that Indonesia’s energy firm Pertamina has large supplies of higher-sulphur fuel, adding that the country would comply with the upcoming regulations after it exhausts these stocks. It is not clear how long would the implementation of the sulphur rule in Indonesian waters be delayed.

Indonesian-flagged ships sailing international routes will still need to comply with the IMO fuel rules from January 2020.

Under the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) regulation, scheduled to come into force in 2020, ships will have to use fuel with a maximum 0.5% sulphur content, down from the current 3.5%, unless they are equipped with scrubbers.

The 0.5% sulphur limit extends to carriage of bunker fuel with sulphur content of more than 0.50% for vessels not fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGSC). The carriage ban will come into effect on March 1, 2020.

World Maritime News Staff