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The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) has issued an advisory which details questions put to and received from Shanghai's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) about bunker fuel delivered by foreign suppliers and the fuel sampling and testing regime.

The tanker owners association has sought to receive clarification from the MSA on the enforcement of China's Emission Control Area (ECA) requirements.

Intertanko question 1: "In paragraph 2 of item 1, the Notice requires the bunker suppliers to: 'test every batch of fuel and keep the records; and provide vessels with the Bunker Delivery Note (BDN) and samples of the fuel supplied.' It is possible that many of such bunker suppliers are based outside China so we would like to know how the MSA intends to enforce this. If the foreign bunker suppliers do not comply with this requirement, what would be the repercussions? Our view is that the vessel/owner should not be unduly penalised for non-compliance on the part of the bunker supplier. If the bunker supplier does not send the fuel sample for testing and the owner/vessel sends the sample it has collected for testing, we feel that the MSA should accept the owner's test report. Furthermore, if the voyage between the bunkering port and the Chinese ECA port is short and the report has not reached the vessel upon arrival at the port, how will the Chinese MSA respond in such a situation?"

Answer from Shanghai MSA: "Foreign (outside China) bunker suppliers will need to provide BDN and fuel samples as per MARPOL. The Notice is based on the 'Regulations on Administration of the Prevention and Control of Marine Environment Pollution Caused by Vessels' which lays out those requirements on local (China-based) bunker suppliers and can be enforced on such suppliers."

Intertanko question 2: "In section 2.2(2), could you advise how such random checks will be conducted? Will it entail samples to be taken onboard by Chinese officials or will the officials simply request to take the sample fuel available onboard, whether provided by the bunker supplier or the owner/vessel, for separate testing?"

Answer from Shanghai MSA: "Any testing done by the vessel is on samples taken during the supply of the bunkers per MARPOL regulations whereas the focus of the Chinese ECA requirements is on the fuel that was being used while the vessel is in the ECA region. As such, any checks required by the local authorities must be conducted by sending officials onboard to take samples from the fuel pipeline for testing."

Intertanko question 3: "In section 2.2(3)a, the Notice states that the MSA could either draw samples or use the vessel's fuel samples for testing. We feel that using the vessel's fuel sample and test report provided either by the bunker supplier or the Owner's sample and test report would be more ideal instead of sending officials onboard to carry out separate sampling and testing which may cause undue burden and delay on the vessel/owner. However, if MSA has strong reasons to want to conduct its own sampling and testing, we would like to know if the vessel will be detained while awaiting the test results?"

Answer from Shanghai MSA: "The vessel will not be detained while awaiting the test results from the samples taken by the officials."

Advice to tanker owners

Commenting on the exchange to its members, Intertanko said: "Fuel suppliers operating in China are mandated to sample and test fuels delivered to ships. This provision cannot be applied to fuel suppliers operating outside China. To be on the safe side, and to the extent it is possible and practicable, we would suggest that ships calling the Chinese ECA attempt to bunker 0.50% fuel in China. It provides better protection as the ships would have documentation to demonstrate the fuel purchased is compliant.

"Apparently, the Chinese authorities would expand fuel sampling onboard arriving ships. This is not a practice under MARPOL Annex VI regulations but a practice under the EU Sulphur Directive. We would suggest ships establish safe sampling points in the engine room and are provided with guidelines for proper sampling. Ships should also keep part of the fuel sampled by the authorities.

"It is positive that, irrespective of whether the result of the test on fuel sample taken by the local authorities is not available, ships will not be delayed in leaving the port.

"The penalty stated in Article 106 of the 'Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution' determines a fine of 10,000 Renminbi and above, up to a maximum of 100,000Renminbi for vessels using bunker fuels that do not meet Chinese ECA standards or requirements.

"The penalty stated in Article 63 of the 'Regulations on Administration of the Prevention and Control of Marine Environment Pollution Caused by Vessels' determines a fine of up to 20,000 Renminbi for bunker suppliers that do not truthfully fill up the BDN, or did not provide the vessel with BDN and samples of the bunker fuel."

Sulphur regulation timeline

Hong Kong was the first Pearl River Delta port to enforce the obligatory use of fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5 percent last year. Its Air Pollution Control (Ocean Going Vessels) (Fuel at Berth) Regulation, L.N. 51 of 2015, became effective on 1st July 2015.

At the start of this year, on 1st January, China's three ECAs - the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Rim - became effective and ships were encouraged, but not obliged, to begin using 0.5 percent sulphur fuel when at berth or anchor by the Ministry of Transport.

On 1st April 2016, a compulsory 0.5 percent sulphur limit for ships berthing at key ports of the Yangtze River Delta ECA, namely Shanghai, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Suzhou and Nantong, was imposed. It excludes one hour before departure and arrival. On 1st October 2016, the same regulation is to be implemented in Shenzhen, the world's third-largest container port.

In January 2017, the 0.5 percent regulation will be obligatory for ships when at berth or anchor at the following 'key' ECA ports: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhujiang, Shanghai, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Suzhou, Nantong, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan and Huanghua.

In January 2018, the rules will apply to ships when at berth or anchor at all ports in China's three ECAs. Then, in January 2019, the 0.5 percent regulation will extend to all ECA waters.

It is understood that the Ministry of Transport intends to reduce the 0.5 percent ECA limit to 0.1 percent on 1st January 2020, though this is yet to be confirmed.

Article includes information sourced from Intertanko and North of England P&I.