The Ministry of transport recently issued the notice on printing and distributing the implementation plan for the emission control area of air pollutants from ships (hereinafter referred to as the notice), which pointed out that it will reduce the emission of air pollutants such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulate matters and volatile organic compounds from ships by setting up the emission control area of air pollutants from ships (hereinafter referred to as the emission control area), and continuously improve the coastal areas and Air quality of inland port cities.



For a long time, due to the limitation of the existing thinking mode, China's standards and restrictions on the discharge of pollutants from ships have been developed around the discharge of water and solid waste from ships, including the idea of relevant standards and regulations on the emission control of air pollutants from ships by government departments and the private sector in a quite long period of time. Obviously, this traditional thinking is being challenged by the reality of the air pollution situation which is highly concerned by the whole country.



As early as 2015, when the emission limits and measurement methods of marine engine exhaust pollutants (China's first and second stages) solicited opinions from the public, it attracted public opinion's appeal to strengthen the supervision of ship air pollution. The three-year action plan to win the blue sky defense war issued recently clearly proposed that by the end of 2019, the scope of ship emission control area should be adjusted and expanded to cover key coastal ports. In terms of standard formulation, standards such as marine fuel oil, emission limits and measurement methods of marine engine exhaust pollutants (China Phase I and II) have been successively implemented.



Obviously, the issuance of the notice accelerated the decomposition and implementation of relevant tasks, and the purpose of both the formulation of standards and the definition of emission control areas was to accelerate the implementation of the ship's atmospheric emission supervision as soon as possible. According to the notice, the scheme is applicable to ships sailing, berthing and operating in the emission control area in the coastal control area and inland river control area. This means that both coastal ports and inland ships must comply with the relevant requirements of pollutant emission regulation.



The control requirements specified in the notice include: sulfur oxide and particulate matter emission control requirements, nitrogen oxide emission control requirements, ship berthing and shore power utilization requirements and other four aspects, totaling 17 specific requirements. Among them, the emission control requirements of sulfur oxide and particulate matter are the most important for air pollution emission regulation, and there are also some highlights.



For example, it is specified in the notice that from January 1, 2019, the marine oil with sulfur content no more than 0.5% m / m shall be used when the marine vessel enters the emission control area, and the fuel oil conforming to the newly revised national standard for marine fuel oil shall be used for large inland river vessels and river sea direct ships; the diesel oil conforming to the national standard shall be used for other inland river vessels. From January 1, 2020, when the ships enter the inland river control area, the fuel oil with sulfur content no more than 0.1% m / m shall be used.



For example, the notice also requires that from March 1, 2020, ships that do not use alternative measures such as sulfur oxide and particulate pollution control devices can only load and use the marine fuel oil that should be used in accordance with the provisions of this plan when entering the emission control area. From January 1, 2022, when the ships enter the waters of Hainan in the coastal control area, the fuel oil with sulfur content no more than 0.1% m / m shall be used.



It is not difficult to find that the notice puts forward the emission requirements in different stages according to the overall situation of the air environment in different waters and inland rivers, which embodies the principle of seeking truth from facts, rather than a one size fits all standard. Therefore, it can be predicted that the use of ships in different areas will gradually adapt to the new regulatory standards and ensure that they are clear in accordance with the notice It is required to update the fuel oil drive system of the ship.



It should be said that for China, a big country with frequent use of ships, the formulation of emission standards will bring a whole body impact. According to relevant statistics, China is a country rich in inland shipping resources. By the end of 2013, China had 172600 water transport ships with a net carrying capacity of 244 million tons. Among the top ten ports in the world, China holds eight seats and its throughput accounts for about a quarter of the world. The environmental pollution caused by ship transportation is increasingly prominent. It is estimated that in 2013, the sulfur dioxide emissions from ships in China accounted for about 8.4% of the total emissions, and the nitrogen oxide emissions accounted for 11.3%. Port cities are the most affected by ship pollution, followed by cities along rivers.



In the view of the reporter, from the perspective of policy promotion path and logic, China's relevant departments have been alerted to the situation of air pollutants discharged by ships, so they will gradually promote the upgrading of relevant standards and clarify the emission supervision area and scope. After all, it is not too late to extend the hand of air pollution supervision to ships, especially the air pollutants discharged by ships has already affected the current situation of China's atmosphere It constitutes a threat, which is more obvious and serious in coastal and riverside areas where ship transportation is more active.



Therefore, from this point of view, it is advisable to look forward to the issuance and implementation of the notice. It is necessary to know that once the ship's air pollutant emission control area is implemented in accordance with the clear requirements of the notice, it means that the aforementioned standards, such as marine fuel oil, limits and measurement methods for exhaust pollutants from ship engines (phase I and II in China), will also be implemented simultaneously 。 At that time, on the one hand, the standards of relevant ship engines and marine fuel oil will be improved simultaneously; on the other hand, the competent departments at all levels will control and supervise according to the new ship air pollutant emission area, strengthen linkage and policy guidance, so as to make the future situation of ship air pollutant emission clearer and clearer, and then make it practical