26SEP2019 - NEWS - India to enforce IMO 2020 rule on both domestic, international shipping: ministry officials

India’s domestic shipping sector will comply with the International Maritime Organization’s low sulfur mandate for marine fuels and the country remains committed to implement MARPOL VI regulations on board its flag vessels, irrespective if the run is foreign going or coastal, officials at the country’s shipping ministry told S&P Global Platts.

There has been market speculation that India’s domestic shipping sector wouldn’t comply with the new low sulfur marine fuel regime.
“Domestic shipping will start complying as soon as the low sulfur fuel is available,” an official told Platts late last week.

In order to ensure compliance, the Directorate General of Shipping, the maritime regulator, has already held several rounds of consultation with stakeholders, including ship owners, unions, oil refiners, bunker oil suppliers and barge operators, to prepare for the IMO 2020 rule, the official said.

India’s move comes on the heels of an announcement by Indonesia in August that it will fulfill its MARPOL Annex VI obligations to enforce the 0.50% sulfur cap regulations, dismissing earlier government plans, suggesting only a partial implementation of the rule.