RS to take part in MEPC 84

The session will primarily focus on climate-related issues, in particular draft amendments to the MARPOL Convention that introduce both technical and economic (market-based) measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. This autumn the Committee is set to determine the procedure and framework for evaluating these amendments, which were postponed last year.

In addition, the Committee is expected to adopt several key decisions concerning environmental standards for ships, including:

1. Review and adoption of MARPOL amendments introducing a new Emission Control Area (ECA) for sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter in the North-East Atlantic Ocean;
2. Launch of substantive work on amendments to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, based on accumulated implementation experience;
3. Evaluation of proposals to improve the requirements of MARPOL Annex VI with regard to operational carbon intensity;
4. Continued discussion on regulating underwater noise from ships;
5. Ongoing work on preventing marine pollution by plastic waste from ships, including plastic pellets and discarded fishing gear.

RS experts will attend the Committee’ plenary session and take active part in dedicated Working, Technical and Drafting groups created for more issue-specific discussions on the development of requirements and recommendations for maritime shipping.

Additional information:

Founded in 1913, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) is a world-renowned classification society that operates within all spheres of the maritime industry with the goal of improving the operational and environmental safety of marine transportation. RS reviews technical documentation, surveys ships and offshore facilities under construction and in service, certifies vessels and companies for compliance with international conventions, recognizes and certifies industrial products and manufacturers, certifies quality management systems for compliance with international and national standards.

Today, RS is actively expanding its scope of services in the field of engineering and consulting, the development of technical documentation for vessels in service, marine warranty surveys, management system certification and recognition of manufacturers. In addition, RS surveys all container types, including tank containers and offshore containers, confirms compliance of packaging for dangerous goods, as well as renders services on the declaration and certification of dangerous goods and bulk cargoes.